The First Immortal: Or how I Learned to Create the Pokémon Universe
by GameManiac
Summary: Before humanity, before civilization, before politics, before war. Before Pokémon, before nature, before the elements, before mythology. Before emotions, before language, before senses, before reality. Before the universe, before time and space, before the beginning, before the Big Bang. There was nothingness, blank empty nothingness. "Alpha – Origin Chapter 5" Posted. COMPLETE!
1. Alpha – Origin Chapter 1

Just a heads up.

I will almost never be leaving Author's Notes for my side stories. If I do, it's to point something out that matters to the story itself.

I also won't be keeping track of the views that my side stories receives directly within these same side stories. I already do so on my main stories, and I'll do so there.

That's about it.

 **[Insert disclaimer about respective copyrighted and referenced properties not being my own and OCs and fictitious storyline being my own here.]**

* * *

Alpha – Origin Chapter 1: Before the Beginning

Location: ?

Date: ?

Time: ?

 _Before Time/Sun/Thomas J. Bergersen (Two Steps From Hell)_

 _(Song Begins)_

Before humanity, before civilization, before politics, before war.

Before Pokémon, before nature, before the elements, before mythology.

Before emotions, before language, before senses, before reality.

Before the universe, before time and space, before the beginning, before the Big Bang.

There was nothingness, blank empty nothingness.

Within this nonentity, raw chaos reigned supreme over the vastness of this limitless emptiness. Without the rules of space to govern its position, the laws of time to organize its activity, and the ideology of realization to analyze it, this chaos acted on its own whim, by its own laws, laws that no one could make and govern over.

At the heart of this chaos was a vortex, where the turmoil itself was at its most dense. Within this bedlam void, and through its lack of defining order, an object began to form. At first, this object was small, simply the result of residual activity of the surrounding chaos. But as the chaos persisted, so did the growth of this object, until it began to take on a defining ovoid shape, and a luster that illuminated through and in contrast to the chaos.

The First Light.

This ovoid eventually grew dense enough to fall out of the chaos vortex, and enter the plane of nothingness that surrounded it, that the chaos governed over. The ovoid remained unfazed by the violent turbulence surrounding it, alongside the nothingness that it floated over. The ovoid simply drew power from the heart of chaos, assimilating its energy for sustenance, converting it into something else, something that defied chaos, and acted on its own terms, its own laws.

The First Order.

The ovoid continued to grow, inevitably dwarfing the chaos vortex from which it drew power from, until the heart of chaos appeared as a speck in the nothingness, an iota to the lot.

Then, the ovoid began to shine brighter than it ever did before, even when it tumbled out of the chaos vortex. The light consumed the ovoid, shined over the speck that continued emanating pure chaos, and illuminated the nothingness, to an extent that the nothingness itself never managed to do before.

The First Egg.

In the ovoid's place, an entity hovered before the speck of chaos. The entity was quadrupetal, white and black, and fast asleep. But when "It" soon awakened and stretched Its legs, Its pair of eyes were green and red, and gazed upon the nothingness that surrounded Its majestic, mostly monochrome body.

The First Immortal.

These green-red eyes soon took note of the sole object that resided within the nothingness, the speck of chaos that created this first living, sentient being. And without a logical reason, from the center of Its being, 1,000 ethereal appendages sprouted forth from Its body, all of them surrounding the chaos, containing its omnipotent power, drawing further from it.

As a result, the entity's monochrome body took on a new property. A crest, golden in color and luxuriously adorned, surrounded Its midsection. Alongside this, Its forehead and pointed feet gained this same phenomenon.

Through this newfound power, the entity expanded the speck of chaos within Its grasp, its entire constitution beginning to change as it grew in size to the point where all 1,000 arms could no longer cover it within their clutches.

And when this happened, all 1,000 arms blossomed, allowing the reformed chaos to break free and explode, spreading forth its wonders into the nothingness instantaneously.

The First Universe.

The entity responsible for reforming chaos into order remained at the center, where the singularity was at its pinnacle. All 1,000 of Its ethereal arms seeped back into Its body, as It looked down at where It appeared to stand, seeing an apparition of Itself connected to Itself.

The First Darkness.

This shadow remained below the entity before the miracle It performed subsided, allowing the surrounding light to fade, Its shadow to disappear, and the birthed universe to surround It.

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

As the universe continued expanding infinitely, so did the entity's perception, power, and understanding.

Through It's omnipotence, the First Immortal began to shape the universe with Its 1,000 arms. What began as dust wandering aimlessly in the vacuum of space, and the simplest of elements floating invisibly here and there‒albeit in immeasurable quantities because of the near infinite space of the universe‒, began to clump themselves together into larger and more diverse celestial bodies.

Dust and elements became nebulas and asteroids.

Nebulas and asteroid became stars and planets.

Stars and planets began to emanate energy and bear rich resources.

All of this, and everything in between, required eons to form, billions of years to pass by, for one individual to make something out of nothing. One individual created reality, in the form of the cosmos.

But as the eons went on by, this entity's obvious solitude within an ever-expanding universe weighed more and more heavily on its body than the forces of gravity It helped form.

The entity knew that It was the sole being formed out of the chaos vortex, out of the chaos itself, birthed into nothingness and solely tasked to bring something into nothing. And in recollecting on Its origins, the First Immortal began to wonder why It and It _alone_ was born into anything to begin with.

Why aren't there any other living beings to share this universe alongside It? Why can't It create life just as it created space, time, and matter?

Create life… Create life…and shape it in Its image.

For the first sentient life to create the second sentient life, resources must be gathered, and a method must be implemented and executed. With that in mind, the entity began to trek Its created universe and harvest from it all of the necessities of life.

From the stars, It gathered energy. From the planets, It gathered resources. From Its mind, It established laws for Itself, a further understanding of Itself, from outside and within, to form new life just as It was formed before the beginning of the universe, birthed from the womb of chaos' maw.

All of the necessities that the entity gathered, through Its 1,000 arms, were pulled back into Its peculiar body, where they were amalgamated and began to take shape for the first moments of sentient life, much like the First Immortal as the egg that gave rise to It was beginning to form. But unlike the chaos vortex that formed It, the womb that the entity made within Itself will give rise to new life, as evident by the fact that Its belly began to swell, as if pregnant with growing, developing life.

Within this entity's makeshift womb, not one, but _three_ eggs began to form, each of them similar to the egg that the entity came to be from, but with the second, third, and fourth lives growing within them as biological extensions of Itself. The energy that this trio of developing life is feeding off of, growing from, is not the same raw energy that came from the nothingness that the First Immortal was born from. The energy is refined, gathered from the universe, bestowed upon them as the entity they're growing within essentially gathered throughout Its "pregnancy". Therefore, they will inevitably be somewhat weaker, but hardly appear as such. They will respectively govern over a law over the cosmos that the entity they will eventually and lovingly label as their mother/father has established for the universe.

Space. Time. Matter.

The First Children.

Their destinies have been set before they have even been born, as implemented by their soon-to-be mother/father. They will govern the universe and continue to shape it as princes(ses), with the First Immortal taking the place as the king/queen.

Eventually, the time came where the entity's belly was swollen to the point where the birth of the three eggs was imminent. However, because It has no apparent and gaping orifices _anywhere_ on Its body for the eggs to come out of, the First Immortal had to manually retrieve the eggs within Its body with a few of Its 1,000 arms and lay them that way instead.

Plucking each individual egg within Its womb with no more than three ethereal arms, the entity made all three eggs emerge (from Its posterior) and deposited them before Its face, before withdrawing those three arms back into Itself. All three eggs, no longer taking up space within the First Immortal, caused Its belly to lose its pregnant curvature and return to its normal girth. Then, the entity simply huddled closely beside the freshly laid eggs, watching them until the time came for them to hatch.

For the First Immortal, eons can feel like seconds. And minutes went by since the eggs were laid before they began to show signs of activity within their shells, in the form of shuffling, muffled cooing, and tapping sounds from all three eggs.

Then, for all three of these eggs, those sounds of activity ceased altogether, before the eggs themselves began to shine as brightly as the egg that the First Immortal was born from.

The simultaneous lights were brief yet brilliant and glamorous, not necessarily requiring the entity to close Its eyes to protect Itself from the flash. The light dimmed soon enough, and revealed the first of the Three Children that the entity had essentially given birth to.

 _To the Gateway/Super Mario Galaxy Platinum Version-(OST)/Mahito Yokota_

 _(Song Begins)_

The first of these Children was blue, quadrupetal, much like its mother/father. On its head and on the base of its hindquarters, it even had features similar to those of its father, from the elongated length of the back of its head, to the massive crest it had at the base of its hindquarters.

Dialga.

The second of these Children had six legs, was mostly grey in appearance, and had a longer body, with ethereal wings behinds its back, each of them with three red claws that maneuvered freely without any obvious physical limitations.

Giratina.

The third of these Children had two legs, stood bipedal, and was a light purple in overall color. It had fins behind its back, plates on its shoulders, and claws on its hands and feet.

Palkia.

All three of these infants were no bigger than their mother/father. When It craned its neck down to see them much more closely, all three Children were smaller than Its own head. And as their mother/father lowered Its head to lovingly see them up close and personally, all three Children craned their heads up to see the giant looking at them, through the red eyes that they all shared in common.

All three children curiously looked at the entity that gave them life.

Their parent.

Arceus.

" _Hello, My Children,_ " Arceus talked to Its babies, through telepathy because It had no mouth. " _Welcome to the universe._ "

Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia appeared to stare blankly at Arceus at first, not entirely sure at first who Arceus is and what connection It has with the three of them. But within their minds, through the first moments of their sentient life, parental recognition had yet to be established with the first living being that they see, that is larger than them, that is ready to care for them shortly after leaving their parent's womb and taking their first breath.

" _My name is Arceus,_ " Arceus addressed Itself to them, as they began to wag their tails slowly and tilt their heads curiously. " _And you three are Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, inheritors of time, matter, and space respectively._ "

With the parental link established within their seemingly tiny minds, their curiosity and emotions began to shine out of their temporarily little bodies. They stood up, cooed cutely at their mother/father, and approached Arceus' face, before latching onto it and showing their affection to the First Immortal, in the form of playful rubbing and even the occasional licking of Its face.

From here on out, Arceus no longer resided in the universe as the only sentient living being. Now, through Its power, Arceus had created life to share the universe with, Children to love and raise as Its own.

What was once Chaos and Nothingness, what was once One, was now Four.

Little did Arceus and Its Children realize that Its shadow always loomed underneath It, enveloping Its shadow around Arceus' children, and taking a particular fondness over Giratina.

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

"(…) God desires the willing obedience of his children, not their terror." —Orson Scott Card (33) (" _Shadow of the Giant_ ")


	2. Alpha – Origin Chapter 2

**Alpha – Origin Chapter 2: Brothers and Sisters**

Location: ?

Date: ?

Time: ?

 _Orion/Orion/Two Steps From Hell_

 _(Song Begins)_

Both Arceus and a juvenile Palkia, a Father beside Its Child that is no bigger than Its own head, reside in a specific corner of the universe where one of its incalculable marvels are taking place. Before the red eyes of Arceus and Palkia, they witness a nebula expanding hundreds of light years across in size, millions of colors in appearance, and trillions of times larger than Arceus and Palkia.

Of course, a nebula doesn't pose any danger for either the Alpha or the Spacial Pokémon. Nebulas are nothing more than oversized gas clouds, their colors coming from the light of existing stars behind them, as well as the formation of _new_ stars within them. In fact, the density of a nebula completely contradicts its size. A volume of a nebula no larger than a planet would only weigh as much as a fragment of space debris.

Arceus knew that, but Palkia was still a newborn, a hatchling, a neophyte. Despite being millions of years old already, and being exempt from the laws of time, Palkia's mindset was still that of a child. And that means fear is still one of Palkia's more prominent emotions.

" _Where…where are we, Father?_ " Palkia wondered, its red pupils appearing as small dots within the black sclera of its widened eyes.

" _We are here to begin your training, My Child._ " Arceus told Palkia. " _Because you embody space, I will teach you how to create new stars out of dust. Or to be more specific, out of the gases of this vast nebula._ "

Palkia's eyes never looked away from the vast expanses of cosmic gases because its budding nebulaphobia was demanding its survival instincts to keep an eye on what it perceives as dangerous. Palkia began to hyperventilate at the sight of the expanding nebula before it, its chest beginning to expand and contract irregularly, as Palkia took large breaths, breaths that didn't exactly have any oxygen in them and are not necessary for Palkia to remain alive.

Arceus watched as Palkia's altered rate of breathing had a direct influence on their cosmic setting, most notably on the nebula they were hovering in space beside. The nebula's rate of expansion increased alongside its irregular shape, rapidly distorting itself multiple times, appearing as different and as unrecognizable as its last incarnation. Arceus sensed increased turmoil in Palkia's mind, as the Spacial Pokémon's fear became more and more paralytic.

" _The cosmos are…are so big._ " Palkia struggled to get its words out, despite the fact that it was speaking telepathically. " _And we're s-so small…in comparison._ "

" _Yes. Yes we are._ " Arceus stated simply, knowing their size in comparison to the universe is subjective and freely adjustable if the need to arises. Of course, Palkia has obviously forgotten that fact because of its growing fear.

" _I…I-I don't k-know…if I can…m-m-make stars…out of this…g-growing nebula._ " Palkia's hyperventilating intensified and its body began to shiver in fright.

" _…Palkia?_ "

" _Y-yes…Father?_ "

" _Close your eyes._ "

" _W-why…F-Father?_ "

" _The scale of the universe I created pales in comparison to the scale of our power._ " Arceus assured Its frightened Child. " _There is nothing in this universe that can bring harm upon us. Our size in comparison to every single celestial body is subjective and not absolute. Your growing mind and fluctuating emotions are clouding your judgment, making you hesitate._ "

When Arceus said that, Palkia began to feel itself calm down. Its breathing began to stabilize, as did the fluctuating activity of the nebula before them. Palkia then did as Arceus requested of it and closed its eyes. In doing so, Palkia remained silent, feeling its own body stabilize.

" _Concentrate on your power and your power alone, not on the seemingly daunting scale of the environment around you._ " Arceus guided Its Son. " _The nebula before us may appear towering, but remember that it is merely composed of gas, aimlessly wafting in the vacuum of space. Focus your power into the nebula and guide this gas back together. Help it unify, so that it can become a new star to shine in the darkness._ "

Taking the words of its Father to heart, from a guidance standpoint as well as an emotional one, Palkia did as Arceus calmly and gently instructed. Through its power over the cosmos, Palkia mentally commanded the gases of the nebula to collect amongst one another, to gather and reunite, to become something grandiose out of something so apparently insignificant. And Palkia did all of this without needing to see any of it, because it was viewing its good work through its mind's eye, through what its cosmic powers were able to influence and mold to its wishes.

" _Remember that the source of your power over space lies in your breath._ " Arceus reminded Palkia. " _With proper control and eventual mastery, your breathing directly controls the environment around you. For example, if you breathe too spastically, your surrounding space will fluctuate. You will learn how to manipulate space through various subtle commands of your breath. And I will guide you._ "

After speaking, Arceus watched as Palkia breathed calmly and stably now, its earlier fluctuations of trepidation having disappeared entirely. Arceus watched as Palkia influenced the nebula, to the point where the cumulating and condensing gases began to react to one another, until the telltale twinkles of thousands of star lights began to shine within the nebula.

With the Spacial Pokémon's task successfully accomplished, Palkia opened its eyes. And what was once hyperbolized terror towards the gaseous celestial body was now a growing sense of respect and wonderment to the nebula. Because in short, what was so scary about seeing new stars being born?

" _How did I do, Father?_ " Palkia looked away from the nebula and up to Arceus. " _Did I do good?_ "

Arceus inspected the nebula for a few moments longer before craning Its neck down towards Its Son and nuzzling Palkia's face affectionately with Its black cheek.

" _You did spectacularly, Palkia._ " Arceus said with calmed gratification. " _You and your Brothers will do wonders to this universe._ "

* * *

Within one of the more violent corners of the universe, within a meteor shower that was taking place for one of a vast collection of spawning planet revolving around their equally young star, both Arceus and Dialga resided in the middle of the surrounding and apparent turmoil. Both the Alpha and the Temporal Pokémon witnessed thousands upon thousands of colossal asteroids raining down on each and every one of these unsuspecting planets, pelting them with their collisions, adding their mass onto their inadvertent targets, obliterating themselves and having their broken remains revolve and recollect these juvenile planets.

Dialga watched on at this display of necessary cosmological pandemonium, never once contemplating why not even a single one of these meteors were impacting it or Arceus. The answer regarding why was because Arceus erected a transparent dome of pure energy, the likes of which the largest of traveling asteroids couldn't hope to dent. And because of the vacuum of space that both Arceus and Dialga hovered about in, there was no deafening sounds to disturb their quiet observation of the solar system they were watching in the making.

" _What will I be doing today, Father?_ " Dialga wondered with curiosity, unable to figure out why it and Arceus were here to begin with. " _What will you teach me?_ "

" _I will teach you how to stop time._ " Arceus stated simply. " _You exemplify time. And to manipulate it as Palkia influences space with its breath, you must learn how to stop your heart._ "

Unsurprisingly, Dialga's heart sank upon hearing that. " _D-did You just say…'stop your heart'?_ "

" _Yes, My Son. I said 'stop your heart'._ " Arceus repeated Itself, on the off chance that Dialga was imagining the sounds of asteroids disintegrating against Its protective barrier, or if Dialga was distracted by the mesmeric sight of planetary construction.

"(*Whimper*)" Dialga inwardly squealed. Its legs, neck, and tail appeared to withdraw slightly into its body. No surprise considering a stopped heart almost always equals death.

Arceus obviously noticed this, regardless of actually looking down at Its Child or not. " _Dialga? You_ do _remember that your heart is special to you, right?_ "

" _…_ " Dialga simply sat down and nodded. Which, in Arceus' eyes, looked quite adorable from a living organism that was still a hatchling.

" _Just like with Palkia's breath over the cosmos, you can control time with your heart._ " Arceus assured Dialga. " _And to appease your initial fears, stopping your heart doesn't mean that you will die. I took that into account when you and your Brothers were still being developed inside of Me. I know your physical chemistry as well as your overall potential._ "

When Arceus said that, Dialga's posture did relax. But Dialga's heart was still beating rapidly. And because Dialga had yet to master its temporal abilities, the meteor shower that was going on for each and every one of these planets appeared to fast forward. That also meant that the collisions to Arceus' barrier increased, but that wasn't a problem to the Alpha Pokémon in the slightest. All that mattered to Arceus was helping its Children understand the powers that they've been given, powers that Arceus can take away but will never do so unless the situation calls for it.

" _Think of your heart as a tool to keep track of time._ " Arceus continued. " _When it stops, so does the field of time around you, as well as the blood flowing through your veins. Depending on the rate at which it beats, time reacts accordingly to it. But this only comes through proper control and training in your part. Because the possibility that stopping your heart and only compromising yourself is a possibility._ "

" _Um, is that supposed to help me…or_ hinder _me?_ " Dialga asked honestly, unsure of Arceus' apparent duality.

" _Both._ " Arceus affirmed. " _Through proper guidance and training in my part, you'll exercise your heart so that stopping it doesn't harm your health._ "

In saying that, Dialga's heart rate noticeably lessened and became more stable. The meteor shower before them had slowed back down to its default speed, and was even beginning to appear to occur in slow motion. Dialga's calmness directly translated to an environment that was gradually growing more and more decelerated. But only Arceus noticed the subtle shift in time to the environment they presently inhabited.

" _Close your eyes, Dialga._ " Arceus instructed the Temporal Pokémon.

Dialga did just that, without hesitating now, knowing that Arceus' guidance was to be followed.

" _Focus on the sounds of your own heart._ "

With the outside world temporarily sealed away by nothing more than Dialga's eyelids, the Temporal Pokémon focused on and _only_ on within. Dialga quickly listened to its heart and felt its body calm down even further by the sound of its rhythmic life.

Arceus noticed that the cascading rain of rocks was slowing down even further, to the point where if one were to see them closely, they would see their surrounding fire slow down alongside them as they entered a presently feeble, yet developing atmosphere.

" _Tell your heart to stop,_ " Arceus finalized. " _Your heart belongs in your body. You_ alone _govern it._ "

 **…Ba-dump…ba-dump…ba-dump…ba-dump…**

Dialga did precisely that, through the power of mind over matter.

 **…Ba-dump…ba-dump…ba-dump…**

And little by little…

 **…Ba-dump…ba-dump…**

Dialga's internal clock slowed down.

 **…Ba…dump…**

 **…**

…Until it stopped altogether.

When that happened, Dialga felt an odd sensation across its body. The subtle pulsing that it can feel across certain areas of its body that had a higher blood pressure to others suddenly disappeared. Dialga's body still felt very warm, hardly a frigid corpse as Dialga initially feared. In fact, the only thing unsettling about a deliberately stopped heart was that Dialga felt somewhat hollow within its chest, a chest that bared a massive crest which presently had its blue gem on its center glowing brilliantly in response to Dialga's power. The feeling was mild, but it didn't feel as if it would go away, even with extensive training. It's just something that will remain for Dialga, a necessity in actuality, to remind it that its heart can be stopped for prolonged periods of time, maybe even longer than having its heart continue to beat.

The moment Dialga opened its eyes to inspect its strongly suspected good work, Dialga quickly jolted back with widened red eyes, at the sight of a meteor within inches of impacting into its face. But as Dialga soon noticed, the meteor was held in place there by a few of Arceus' 1,000 arms, deliberately so to further test Dialga's reactions after having stopped time.

 **…**

The hollow sensation Dialga had within its chest still remained, its heart not involuntarily starting back up out of the surprise Arceus intentionally gave Dialga. And in noticing that, Arceus cast aside the meteor, reengaged the protective barrier surrounding them both, and gave Dialga the chance to relax and restart its heart. And much to Dialga's relief, it felt as natural as stopping it in the first place.

" _Perfect, Dialga._ " Arceus said proudly to its Son. " _Absolutely perfect._ "

* * *

Within one of the most violent events in the universe, the site of a supernova in action, both Arceus and Giratina watched on as a red supergiant star could no longer hold onto the life it once had. The swollen star could no longer function properly as it did hundreds of millions of years ago, a time span that felt radically shorter to the only four forms of sentient life in the universe. It ejected its gaseous contents in a magnificent display of outward power and even distinct beauty, the likes of which Arceus easily protected Giratina's still infantile body against.

When the display stopped, Giratina looked up to its father, as it was sitting right beside Arceus' front left leg.

" _What will you teach me today, Father?_ " Giratina looked up to Arceus, optimistic and eager.

" _I will teach you how to use your innate power and represent your nature, Giratina._ " Arceus looked down to Its Son, seeing how hopeful Giratina looked as it stared up to It. " _Do you remember what you represent?_ "

" _Yes, Father._ " Giratina said easily. " _Just as Dialga represents time and Palkia represents space, I represent antimatter._ "

" _And do you know what antimatter is, Giratina?_ " Arceus continued to lecture. " _Do you understand its importance to the universe?_ "

Giratina simply shook its head, knowing well enough what it is that its Brothers can do with their respective powers, but entirely clueless in what it can do with antimatter, or how to even use its own powers.

Arceus entirely expected this response, knowing that Giratina was the student here, and that It was the teacher.

" _Before I can teach you how to exercise your power, I must first teach you the importance of the role you represent._ " Arceus began to explain. " _Are you ready to learn, My Child?_ "

Giratina nodded lightly and eagerly, never being one to deny important knowledge that would serve it well in eventually mastering its powers.

" _Good. Good._ " Arceus was pleased with Giratina's willingness to learn and began Its lesson. " _Antimatter is, in every sense of the word, the exact opposite of matter. Matter is what composes everything physically tangible in this universe, and antimatter exists to keep matter in check._ "

" _Where is this antimatter?_ " Giratina wondered, never recalling an instance in seeing this material before.

" _Elsewhere,_ " Arceus stated simply at first. " _Antimatter and matter must not cross, or else they'll cancel each other out in a glorious discharge of energy._ "

" _Is that why you created the Distortion World?_ " Giratina believed. " _Is that also why you created dimensions for Dialga and Palkia?_ "

Arceus had no mouth to smile with, but was smiling on the inside nevertheless. " _Yes, Giratina. I created the Distortion World as a flipside to this plane of existence. And I also created dimensions specifically tailored for Palkia and Dialga, to help them freely hone their abilities. Because, as I soon realized when I created the universe, there are opposites to everything and anything._ "

" _Light and darkness,_ " Giratina began to list. " _Fire and water. Earth and wind. Good and evil. Life and death._ "

" _Yes, Giratina,_ " Arceus acknowledged these basic opposites. " _Anyway, the Distortion World exists to keep this universe–the universe that we freely roam and work about in–in check. Without one, the other can't exist. That is the relationship that matter and antimatter share. And that relationship, despite the fact that one cancels the other out if they so much as touch, does exist, in the form of one of the most exotic and necessary phenomenon of my universe._ "

" _…A black hole._ " Giratina already knew the answer.

" _Precisely._ " Arceus was pleased with Giratina's knowledge. " _Now, tell me what you know of black holes._ "

The knowledge in itself was already second nature to Giratina, and a great way to please its Father and display to It its natural growth. " _Black holes are vortexes in outer space, commonly created by the cores of dead stars. The cores are dense, much too dense for their surrounding cosmic fields to support, and they collapse within themselves. The gravity they emanate is so great that not even light can escape from it, if light shines too closely to a black hole._ "

" _However, energy can radiate from a black hole, and quasars can erupt from them._ " Arceus added. " _Also, there are such things as white holes, but that's a lesson for another time._ "

" _What do black holes have to do with antimatter?_ " Giratina wondered, knowing there was a connection between the two.

" _Black holes can create antimatter, for starters._ " Arceus began to list. " _Black holes are also rifts to alternate universes. And, as was necessary when I created the universe, black holes helped shape it._ "

" _…?_ " Giratina curiously tilted its head to the side, a sight that made it appear much more adorable to Arceus than initial appearances let on.

" _Many spiraling galaxies, with their billions of stars, owe their existence to the super-massive black holes that help shape them._ " Arceus justified their purpose in the universe. " _Black holes not only vacuum the contents of the universe, but help create new content out of it. The first stars took hundreds of millions of years to form shortly after I created the universe, and the first black holes that came from their deaths helped shape new stars out of their gases and contents._ "

" _What does this have to do with me?_ " Giratina couldn't help but wondered. " _Where am I placed in the order of the universe?_ "

" _You exist in My universe to help maintain its growth and overall progression._ " Arceus stated in a way that didn't sound downgrading or derogatory. " _As Palkia expands the cosmos and Dialga keeps them active, you ensure that their work is kept in harmonious balance. You are an invisible force that links space and time together. You are antimatter and you are–_ "

" _…Gravity?_ "

" _Yes, My Child._ " Arceus almost whispered those three words. " _Now, are you ready to maintain? Are you ready to help bring the jettisoned gases of the supernova together? Are you ready to create a black hole?_ "

Giratina looked away from its Father and back to the remains of the supernova, at the remaining core of the supergiant star, surrounded by gases it could no longer keep together in its current state. After surveying its training playground, Giratina looked back up to Arceus with another adorable nod.

" _Alright, Giratina._ " Arceus awaited amazing results from Its Son. " _Make your Father the proudest being in the universe._ "

After closing its eyes, Giratina focused its distinct powers on the core of the dead star. Giratina implemented its ethereal powers in crumbling the surrounding space-time fabric around it, while simultaneously increasing the gravity surrounding the core, granting it a weight exponentially greater than it already possesses.

This resulted in the star's former core literally collapsing into itself, tearing a hole in this universe, and giving birth to a new black hole, the likes of which already went to work on the expelled supernova gases. It collected those gases, caused them to revolve around itself, and began to form the distinct spiral of a newborn galaxy.

With its good work done, Giratina opened its eyes, seeing the new galaxy begin to wander away elsewhere in the universe, likely to join the millions of other galaxies roaming this expansive corner of the universe. Giratina looked up just in time to feel Arceus affectionately nuzzling the side of its face, wordlessly proud of not just Giratina, but of Dialga and Palkia as well.

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

As eons passed the same way as years for the quartet of sentient life, as the universe continued to expand infinitely, but at a rate that Arceus and Its Children could keep track of, the powers of Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia grew alongside their bodies.

Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia more or less inherited the task of their Father and divided it amongst themselves, exactly as Arceus intended. Dialga kept the universe moving forward through its beating heart, Palkia kept space expanding and vibrant with its very breath, and Giratina held it all together while keeping it stable with its mastery of opposites. And as Giratina realized, this simultaneously meant maintaining the stability of the Distortion World, which in itself was a bit of an extra task for the six-legged entity, but one that it can manage alongside simple universal maintenance.

Arceus watched on at how harmoniously Its three Children worked together, each of their movements flowing into the next without hesitation, with barely a command or a thought against it. To Arceus, it was almost like watching one soul doing a task in three bodies.

And as Arceus watched on at this for the next several eons, at Its Children that now dwarfed Arceus in terms of size and rivaled It in power, Arceus was hard at work on Its own task.

Arceus was preparing Its body to bring three _more_ forms of life into the universe.

The overall process was more or less the same as before, with the only significant difference being the fact that Arceus only laid one egg instead of the three that Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia hatched from. And that was the point this time, with the trio It intended to create.

All four life forms circled around Arceus' new egg, personally there so that they can witness new life hatch before them, so that they can begin to share this universe as a total of _seven_ instead of four.

And because of the way they were all exempt from the laws of time, they didn't have too long to wait.

Arceus' fourth egg hatched as naturally as those of Dialga's, Giratina's, and Palkia's. The egg shell erupted in brilliant white light, momentarily forcing the quartet to shield their eyes, or squint at it to avoid seeing the types of stars that linger on their corneas.

Of course, the light wasn't what they should be marveling at. It's what the light _revealed_ after it died down and Arceus' Children first laid their eyes on their three new Sisters.

All three Pokémon were intertwined into each other, until they realized that they were no longer within their shared egg and looked at their surroundings. What they saw were four giants, all of them with gentle countenances, made more tranquil by the fact that all four of them were as flat on the floor they could make themselves, to appear less intimidating to the trio.

And what Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina saw were three tiny, fairy-like Pokémon, oddly similar in their outward appearance, hovering over towards each of them, differing from each other by their prominent colors on their faces.

The one with the cyan face that looked at Dialga's own blue face…

" _Azelf._ " Arceus named it. " _Embodiment of willpower._ "

The one with the magenta face that looked on at Giratina's warm smile…

" _Mesprit._ " Arceus named it. " _Embodiment of emotion._ "

And the one with the yellow face and closed eyes that somehow looked on at Palkia's inquisitive countenance.

" _Uxie._ " Arceus named it. " _Embodiment of knowledge._ "

After naming them, Arceus watched on at how each of Its new Daughters immediately took a liking to each of their respective Brothers, and not just the ones they initially hovered around. As Arceus watched on at this, at Its six children, thoughts on how to train them and exercise their powers were already being contemplated by the Alpha Pokémon.

It would be different than what was done with Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia. The training that Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie required didn't need to encompass the vast scale of the universe. It needed to center around what the seven of them already possess.

A soul. An essence of life. A twinkle that distinguishes genuine, interactive life from inanimate matter.

But for that to happen, there has to be a place where life can be supported. And with the seven of them, it is entirely possible.

As Arceus had this epiphany, and began to discuss it with its Sons and Daughters, the only entity amongst them that was against it was Arceus' shadow.

* * *

"A real god doesn't care about control. A real god already _has_ control of everything that needs controlling. Real gods would want to teach you how to be just like them." —Orson Scott Card (412) (" _Xenocide_ ")


	3. Alpha – Origin Chapter 3

**Alpha – Origin Chapter 3: Seven Days**

Location: ?

Date: ?

Time: ?

Shortly after Arceus game birth to Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie, and then discussed Its ambitions to create a world full of life with Its Three Daughters and Three Sons, all six of Arceus' Children were in wholehearted agreement. For Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, they saw it as a perfect way to help their new Sisters exercise and understand their respective powers.

In full harmony, all seven of them proceeded to a relatively tranquil area in the universe, away from the largest of supermassive black holes and existing galaxies, to the point where it would take billions of years (a reasonably long period of time for them) for one galaxy to meet another and disturb each other's established patterns. And once here, Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia unified their powers to create a new galaxy.

Palkia opened up rifts to various different areas in the universe and carried enormous nebulas through them. Once enough had been gathered, Dialga radically accelerated the rate at which stars are both within those nebulas. Once hundreds of millions of stars began to shine through the celestial clouds, Giratina telekinetically punched a hole in the center of the newborn, irregularly shaped galaxy. And through its power of antimatter, Giratina created a small enough black hole that involuntarily assimilated a pinch of stars and surrounding gases, while simultaneously providing the necessary gravitational rotation for the celestial body to shape itself into a revolving spiral galaxy.

" _Fantastic work, My Sons._ " Arceus praised Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, much to their smiling gratification.

" _I wish we could do that…_ " Uxie couldn't help but sulk at their great power and equally great experience in using it, especially in unison.

" _Oh, we can!_ " Azelf practically shouted into its Sister's ear. " _But our powers work best on a smaller scale._ "

" _All we have to do is create the new life necessary for us to bestow them with_ your _growing knowledge,_ your _willpower to strive and achieve…_ " Mesprit cheerily pointed at Uxie and Azelf with each hand, and then pointed at herself with both thumbs aimed at her toothy grin. " _…and_ my _emotional, carefree jubilance!_ "

" _Or temper tantrums or jealous streaks or panic attacks or crying episodes…_ " Uxie counted down with its fingers while appearing to look at them with its closed eyes.

" _They'll certainly be driven to that with a little willpower guiding their actions._ " Azelf pointed out.

" _Yes they will!_ " Mesprit understood immediately and without conflicting with its Sisters. Then, she put both hands onto her cheeks and blushed with glee. " _Oh, I can already see our roles in Arceus' Universe! It's so grand! We're grand!_ I'm _grand!_ "

With the spiral galaxy created, and the conversation between Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie having allowed a few more eons to pass by in their radically warped perception of time, Arceus wordlessly signaled Its Children to follow It towards one of the many revolving "arms" of their new galaxy, where the next step of their plan for new life can continue.

* * *

The First Day.

 _Creation of Earth/Sun/Thomas J. Bergersen (Two Steps From Hell)_

 _(Song Begins)_

Out of the hundreds of millions of stars they were presently flying by, each of them exuding various colors and ranging in disturbing sizes, Arceus settles on a relatively young yellow star to establish the zone of new life that It intends on creating.

As Arceus and Its Children soon noticed, the foundations of a new solar system were already being made for them, thanks in part to the natural laws already established across the universe by Arceus in order to self-preserve and maintain it. Surrounding the yellow star were an uncountable amount of dust-sized celestial bodies, colliding and revolving around the gravitational force of their maternal body. Their collisions only increased their mass, until time eventually shaped them into eight distinguishable planets of assorted sized, hundreds or orbiting moons, thousands of planetoids, and millions of distinguishable asteroids separating one half of the planets from the other.

" _Too cold, too big, too gaseous…_ " Palkia noticed the four outer planets, gas giants as was the term to label them by. " _We want to create new life together, not crush it, shatter it from absolute zero temperatures, or strangle it with toxic gases._ "

" _Too warm, too small, too barren…_ " Dialga noticed the four inner planets, specs of rock in comparison to the gas giants farther out from them. " _We also_ _don't want to incinerate new life, or have it leave the atmosphere, of which there's a lack of on a couple of them._ "

" _What about_ that _one, the third planet from the yellow star._ " Giratina shaped its left wing to point its conical red claws at the aforementioned planet.

Arceus deliberately enlarged Itself to match the size of the targeted planet before hovering over towards it. The Alpha Pokémon silently examined the qualities of this budding molten rock, noting how it was the largest of the four inner planets, how it was already beginning to form a solitary moon that would orbit around it for as long as they both exist, and how tranquil the surrounding temperature was at this distance from the yellow star.

" _It's perfect._ " Arceus said simply, before shrinking Itself back down to normal size.

* * *

The Second Day.

In a heated effort to shape this planet to properly sustain life, the Three Brothers were hard at work with their respective roles, while Arceus and Its Three Daughters patiently watched until they were needed.

Dialga manipulated time to rain down the heavens at an accelerated rate, after Palkia tore holes in reality to bring comets bearing ice for a planet that was still, quite literally, on fire from the constant volcanic eruptions and oceans of magma. The resulting impacts, outside of the turbulent explosions they were causing, were necessary in stabilizing the overall environment of this planet. And as the ice and magma met, becoming water and rock, the resulting gases released into the atmosphere were purified and sorted out by Giratina, while it simultaneously kept them from floating away until this planet was large enough to hold onto them by its own gravitational pull. Luckily for Giratina, this planet was already made large enough quickly enough, and Giratina only had to keep the necessary gaseous elements in while keeping the majority of toxic gaseous elements out.

In time, through Palkia's and Dialga's gift of bringing life-sustaining water to a hellish world, and Giratina's acts in balancing out the pure from the impure, the planet they were terraforming rapidly cooled and stabilized. Oceans began to form from the water of the comets, and land began to form from the constant volcanic eruptions spewing flowing magma that soon hardened into solid rock. It wasn't long before, at least 70% of this planet was superficially surrounded by water, and the remaining 30% by fresh new land. Of course, all of that land was unified, but would eventually branch out through subtle shifts of the tectonic plates over millions of years.

* * *

The Third Day.

With a vision for the land of across this terraformed planet, only Arceus was responsible for this next task. Scouring across the place for fertile land, the first _literal_ seeds of life were created within Arceus and deposited through Its 1,000 arms. And behind Its wake, all six children combined their powers to create the necessary environmental conditions to promote the growth and blossoming of these seeds.

Behind Arceus' wake, Palkia brought in rain and held back to bring in the sunlight, simultaneously creating freshwater rivers and lakes. Dialga accelerated the rate at which these plants grew and thrived, watching closely as barren wastelands quickly turned into lush forests. Giratina ensured that when these plants eventually drop off their seeds and die, they would deteriorate back into the dirt and serve as nourishment for the next generation of flora fauna.

The time was not yet right for Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie to exercise their powers, because plant life isn't sentient, simply existing to clear out the carbon dioxide within the atmosphere and providing oxygen for the sentient organisms that will eventually govern this world. Until then, all three of them merrily flew across the planet, over mountains and under seas, marveling the work that their Father and Three Brothers were doing and waiting for their moment to shine.

* * *

The Fourth Day.

The planet's atmosphere, once purified and refined even further by the abundance of plant life, began to reflect the plants' transparency above the planet's surface, and into the gaseous layer that provided this planet's atmospheric pressure.

All seven Pokémon gazed at the sky from this planet, watching the cycle of day and night. During the day, when there weren't any clouds bringing in rain or sleet or snow, reflected a light blue sky with the yellow star illuminating one half of the blue-green planet. And as the planet rotated around both itself and the sun, the shift in time changed the dawn of morning to the apex of noon, to the twilight hours of dusk, to the calm sable of night. During the night, the moon shined brightest, depending on its position with the sun and its orbiting neighbor. Alongside the moon, the hundreds of thousands of stars scattered about the spiral galaxy were equally visible. And as these seven Pokémon were the only sentient life forms present to enjoy the fact that the stars may appear light years away, but were just next-door neighbors in Arceus' universe, Arceus turned Its attention to Its Sons and Daughters, as they sat comfortably beside each other, proud of their overall good work.

" _This planet…this_ Earth _…is now ready to house sentient life._ " Arceus displayed so much love for this terraformed planet that It gave it a name. " _On the Fifth Day onward, the first forms of new life will grace these forests, swim in these waters, fly across the skies, and burrow in the dirt._ "

" _What will they look like?_ " Uxie wondered curiously, not needing to open its eyes to see, and deeply interested in learning what Arceus intends to do.

" _What will they do to this planet?_ " Azelf crossed its arms and looked up at the moon, scratching its chin with one of its tails.

" _And how will they get along with each other?!_ " Mesprit wondered, trembling with excitement so severely that she attempted to restrain herself with her own tails, but only ended up shaking herself upside-down.

" _You will all know at the break of dawn._ " Arceus said after gingerly reorienting Mesprit with one of Its 1,000 arm. " _But for now, let us gaze at the cosmos we've shaped together, knowing that today will be the last day that we'll see them as a family of seven._ "

As Arceus gazed at the stars, Its Six Children did the same. But in their minds, they imaged each of these stars as a sentient and distinct life form, full of wondrous shapes, sizes, abilities, and personalities.

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

The Fifth Day.

 _New Life/Sun/Thomas J. Bergersen (Two Steps From Hell)_

 _(Song Begins)_

Contrary to what they believed the other day, the sentient life that Arceus had created within Its womb wasn't as diverse as they initially believed. When Arceus' belly swelled and life came out of Its core, one clutch at a time by reaching into Itself with Its 1,000 arms and holding out a hatched egg, Arceus' Sons and Daughters expected life with individual distinction. They expected life as broad as the spectrum of light, sizes as varied as temperature, and personalities as different as snowflakes.

Instead, what they saw seeping out of Arceus' body, thousands of times per second, were these hovering, glowing white _proto_ -life beings, with stubby arms, longer legs, bulbous eyes, the finest of fur, small round ears, cute snouts, and thin whip-like tails. And as they quickly disappeared over the horizon and covered all known corners of planet Earth, with some of them even going _beyond_ the Earth and to the stars, Arceus' children couldn't make heads or tails of this.

" _These forms of life will take on a permanent shape that most adequately suits their biological needs as well as their individual preferences._ " Arceus explained, as dozens of these proto-life forms, less than one percent of those that Arceus was giving birth to, decided to cling onto Its body, onto Its golden crest, onto Its pointed legs, even affectionately across Its face to the point where Arceus appeared to possess a godlike beard. " _Pure spirits essentially, starting off with the bare minimum, so that they can expose themselves wherever and freely choose as_ they _see fit._ "

Arceus first Six Children watched as these proto-life forms branched off from each other, stayed close to each other, took to the skies, the oceans, the forests, the arctic, the mountains, the deserts, the volcanoes, and even the cosmos. And just like Arceus, a small fraction did decide to cling onto them rather affectionately.

Those that clung onto these seven Pokémon experienced a subtle shift in their bodies, causing them to grow slightly bigger in size and become more _pink_ than white. Those proto-life forms that became pink were slightly larger than Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie. And when they let go of the Pokémon that they took an affinity for, they mewed happily amongst themselves before flying off, just like the rest of their siblings.

" _Individual choices._ " Arceus continued explaining. " _Free will for all life from here on out._ "

" _Are you sure that's the right decision?_ " Dialga wondered, never being afraid to question its Father, mostly because it was always a great learning experience to question Its choice of actions.

" _Free will for what will eventually become an uncountable amount of souls living on this round rock?_ " Palkia inquired.

" _Not to mention the life that they_ themselves _will create when they eventually decide to get together and…intermingle._ " Giratina asked, knowing that Arceus established the reality of genders to keep these new life forms self-reproducing.

" _I am the God of My Universe._ " Arceus stated lightly, regally, and simply. " _I am not a power-hungry despot. I believe in giving all forms of life the freedom of choice, not in keeping them all shackled to me._ "

" _But won't that lead to conflict between these life forms?_ " Uxie contemplated. " _A minimum of two life forms, repeated millions of times across planet Earth, fighting each other for food, for the right to mate, or simply for the_ fun _of it?_ "

" _What about a drive for excellence?_ " Azelf added. " _There will be those that feel themselves better than others, and may attempt to rise above them, to govern over them, be it for better…or worse._ "

" _And how will these forms of life feel when they're on the receiving end of another's actions?_ " Mesprit believed. " _For those that feel pristine, there are those that will feel dilapidated._ "

Arceus' Children all raised up valid points, all of which Arceus already took into consideration when it was developing the first clutch of eggs within itself, not the assortment that brought these proto-life forms into existence, but those that brought Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia into the world, and then Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie soon after.

" _You will guide them, My Children. Each in your own constructive ways._ " Arceus stated simply, knowing that the recipe for sentient life has already been proven when It made Its Sons and Daughters. " _Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, you will guide them physically. And Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie, you will guide them emotionally._ "

" _But_ how _will we do it?_ " Dialga wondered.

" _How will we know what is_ right _?_ " Palkia doubted.

" _Or what is_ wrong _?_ " Giratina speculated.

" _What will we teach them?_ " Uxie was naive.

" _What will we have them aspire to?_ " Azelf felt misguided.

" _And_ _how should they feel about it?_ " Mesprit felt lost.

As Arceus was still giving birth to these proto-life forms, thousands of them within seconds, and as 99% of them scattered across the Earth while 1% watched on and grew and turned pink before leaving as well, the subtle signs of a smile crept over Arceus' mostly featureless face, one which shed a little light to Its first Six Children.

" _You_ all _already know what you must do._ " Arceus assured them peacefully. " _Just as I've become God of this Universe, you six will follow in My path._ "

At first, Arceus' Children contemplated pressing their Father for more hints on what they must do. But as Arceus explained it so simply to them, that they're just as much of a God as the Alpha Pokémon is. They all just didn't realize it until this point in time, where Arceus is confident in their abilities and granting them freelance status to act on their own unified accord.

" _Now go,_ " Arceus told them, waiting for them to set sail and soar. " _I'll remain here, spreading more sentient life across this planet._ "

With newfound confidence, Arceus' Six Children quickly scattered from their father, just like the proto-life forms that were mostly dispersing themselves from Arceus seconds after their birth. And as Arceus watched them split off to bring goodness to all life on Earth, guarding it, strengthening it, turning this place into a paradise, the Alpha Pokémon carefully seated Itself, making sure it wasn't pressing down on Its bulging belly as Its 1,000 arms continued to ethereally seep into it, pulling out hatching eggs as quickly as Arceus was making them. And even though Arceus had no mouth and no need to breathe, It could feel Its body sigh inwardly.

"(Giving birth to billions of children will take me a couple of days to accomplish, at the rate I'm going.)" Arceus believed, not necessarily feeling fatigue, but knowing that the long-term strain of doing so will occupy Arceus in the long run, and It should make Itself as comfortable as possible. Luckily for the Alpha Pokémon, hundreds of the pink Pokémon that were further developed from the proto-life forms stayed close to It, behaving as Its midwives and collecting the eggs emerging out of Arceus' body. "(But at least I have some company, and can marvel at my own good work.)"

Arceus did exactly that, watching the selfless nature of these pink Pokémon as they harmoniously communicated with each other through the simplest and cutest of sounds. These little pink Pokémon almost comically carried around eggs that were half their size, gingerly setting then down in a soft pile of decomposing vegetation and then surrounding these eggs with their warm bodies. The end result quickly made these eggs hatch into mote proto-life forms, the likes of which some of these pink Pokémon happily escorted over the horizon.

And as Arceus watched on at all of this, It contemplated the most fitting name for these Pokémon. Not the proto-life forms because those have yet to develop themselves into a permanent body, but the pink Pokémon that have retained their purity and wish to retain their fetal appearances.

In the end, because of their adorable cries, Arceus found the most fitting name for them all.

" _…Mew._ "

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

The Sixth Day.

With Arceus seated comfortably in the sidelines albeit still pumping out children like a queen in a colony of living organisms, the Alpha Pokémon's first Six Children flew over the Earth, watching firsthand how quickly the planet evolved for a _second_ time over, from molten rock to oceans and forests, to oceans and forests to a living breathing biome.

As they trekked through forests, swam in oceans, hiked over mountains, braved through volcanoes, endured scorching deserts, and flew over the skies, the witnessed the proto-life forms take to their environment and evolve in response to it. These proto-life forms took on the distinct shapes, assorted sizes, and adaptive natures that the Six Children initially believed them to take when Arceus first introduced them to the little white sprites.

Hopping across the forests were a vast collection of reptillian-like Pokémon, blending into their flora fauna to evade predators. Flooding the oceans were a multitude of marine Pokémon, complete with gills and streamlined bodies, even specialized organs such as bioluminescent antennae to scour the deepest trenches. In the mountains were hardy, burly Pokémon, with thick fur coats to combat the cold, or naturally cold bodies to match it. About the volcanoes were violent Pokémon, feeling the fires and using it to strengthen their own. Across the desert were the toughest Pokémon alive, purely adept at survival in an environment with blazing days and a virtual lack of water. And over the skies were feathered Pokémon flying about, either individually or in migratory flocks.

Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, with the majority of their roles for Earth accomplished, simply positioned themselves in the sidelines and left the planet to work on other elements of the universe that demand their attention. That simply left Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie to bless these maturing proto-life forms with knowledge, willpower, and emotions. And luckily for the three of them, their powers were not only easy to muster, but easy to master.

Just by hovering nearby the maturing Pokémon–the Kabutops, Omastar, and Tirtouga in the water, the Armaldo and Tyrantrum walking on dry land, the Bastiodon and Cradilly in the grasslands, the Aurorus in the arctic, the Aerodactyl and Archeops in the skies, and the Rampardos in the desert–the Three Sisters responsible for the mental qualities of a Pokémon left their blessings for every wild Pokémon that simply looks up at them.

In doing so, all of these Pokémon didn't just eat and sleep and breed by instincts alone. They interacted with each other and their surrounding environment. They became aware of what they were doing, why they were here, why they survive better in these environments and why they're likely to perish in others. They developed friendships with each other, odd ones even. They developed alliances with one another, to better hunt more fortified and resilient Pokémon. They didn't mindlessly breed with one another and developed monogamous relationships, even polygamous harem relationships. Overall, they learned not to survive, but to truly _live_.

That being said, Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie did learn that their powers had side effects. But those side effects influenced their victims rather than themselves.

For Azelf, if any lesser Pokémon attempted to harm it–be it intentionally, accidentally, or for the sake of sustenance–five days would go by before they were immobilized in their entirety. And in this world, immobilized Pokémon were easy pickings for other predatory or scavenger Pokémon. Azelf learned this the hard way when it collided with an Aerodactyl in mid-air, and the Aerodactyl accidentally drew blood from Azelf. Azelf recovered easily from the wound due to its Psychic-Type attribute and apex Pokémon nature. The Aerodactyl however, as Azelf saw the Pokémon fly away, appeared more rigid with each wing flap, the likes of which are distinct in comparison to moving about with broken bones in your body. Azelf paid close attention to this Pokémon, until it petrified before being picked off.

For Mesprit, if any lesser Pokémon attempted to touch it, regardless of the intention behind it, will find themselves losing all emotional qualities within three short days. Pokémon that succumbed to touching Mesprit, even inadvertently, would soon lose Mesprit's emotional blessings and become nothing more than instinctive, soulless Pokémon, destined for a solo life until the day they die. And unfortunately for Mesprit, there were just too many Pokémon on this world that touched Mesprit that succumbed to this side effect. For those that Mesprit was able to relocate, just looking at it returned their emotional bliss. But for those that Mesprit was _unable_ to relocate, they were doomed to an emotional death in life.

For Uxie, if any lesser Pokémon were to look at its eyes, they would lose all recollection of who they are. They would lose their identity, their memories, even their basic instincts, instantly. Uxie learned this the hard way when, for a moment in its life, it felt like opening its eyes to see what they looked like through the reflection of a clear lake's surface. However, many of the Pokémon that were in the same area–especially those underwater–that were gazing at one of Arceus' first Daughters, suddenly lost their mental value and wandered about aimlessly within their surroundings. Uxie _physically_ looked in horror at how their minds have been turned to stone after meeting its gaze, how they didn't register pain when they crashed into a tree or a rock, or when they were being torn apart by a Pokémon that saw an easy meal, and _not_ meet Uxie's gaze. Because of that, not only was it natural for Uxie to keep its unique eyes closed and see the world through ESP, but it was a necessity.

At first, Arceus' sisters saw these abilities as a curse rather than a blessing. But after conversing to Arceus on the matter, even though their Father was dedicating most of Its energy in spreading proto-life forms thousands of times per minute, his response was nothing short of touching.

" _I love you three._ " Arceus made Its feelings for them crystal clear. " _And when I_ _gave birth to My first Three Sisters, I thought of everything. Your abilities, your compact sizes, your purposes in life, and your defense mechanisms._ "

In learning that, Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie didn't question themselves ever again. They knew that they were doing good by bringing overall awareness to these Pokémon. The fact that they can also take it away just means that they have to use it sparingly, or not at all.

* * *

The Seventh Day.

True to Arceus' word, giving birth to billions of children over the course of a couple of days would prove exhausting. And when the last of them seeped out of Its body, returning its midsection down to normal size, Arceus didn't move a muscle and fell fast asleep.

As the colony of Mew that were beside Arceus noticed, even God needed to rest. And after all that the Alpha Pokémon has done for them, by bringing them into existence, resting on the Seventh Day was entirely acceptable in their minds. They huddled close to Arceus' calm, coiled, sleeping body, to the point where they almost appeared as a fluffy pink blanket over the Original One.

Arceus' Six Children returned to their Father after getting their work done, the Brothers over the skies and the Sisters down to Earth. And just like their Father, they were as equally exhausted, and didn't hesitate to sleep for the day. They huddled up beside their Father, a Pokémon that was clearly larger than Its Daughters but strangely smaller than Its Sons.

While these seven Creator Pokémon slept for the day, more Mew surrounded them and huddled up to them for warmth and comfort. Alongside the Mew, a surplus of surrounding Pokémon in the area collected themselves near Arceus and Its Children. Some of them managed to nuzzle up to these giants (or dwarfs in the Sisters' case), while others simply watched, believing it unlikely that they'll never see these seven Pokémon sleep this peacefully in their remaining lifespan and committing every single second of it into their long-term (or short-term) memories.

* * *

 _Id~Darkness/Fire Emblem: Kakusei [Awakening] Original Soundtrack (Disc 4)/Hiroki Morishit_

 _(Song Begins)_

No one noticed that, during Arceus' slumber, Its shadow was free to separate Itself from the Alpha Pokémon's body and roam the Earth however It best saw fit.

With the advantage of stealth and two-dimensional coverage that no normal Pokémon could combat against, Arceus' Shadow was free to dart about every corner of the planet at speeds equal to that of light. And with omnipresent coverage of planet Earth, Arceus' Dark Half was able to feed off of the negativity It sensed in abundance.

In the oceans, in the mountains, in the caves, and even in the skies. As long as the host cast a shadow and exuded negativity, it was within reach and unknowingly exploitable. The Dark Half of the Alpha Pokémon fed on the targeted Pokémon's predatory instincts, death, hostility, violence, sadness, despair, anything and everything that was the opposite of what Arceus and Its Six Children worked so hard in creating.

And in the same day that Arceus' shadow fed on universal negativity, It gathered a surplus of strength, more than necessary to evolve from Its amorphous silhouetted state and take on a new shape in reality.

To those that were unfortunate in witnessing It, they saw a shadow with no apparent owner spontaneously seep above the ground and become three dimensional. They saw this living darkness bubble forth like black magma from a nightmare volcano, rising in shape and size until it took on a form that was all too familiar to these Pokémon.

What they saw was a picture perfect replication of Arceus. The only aesthetic difference between the two is that _this_ Arceus was black where It is normally white, and white where It is normally black.

" _ **I…am…Curseax…**_ " The shadow entity identified Itself before taking note of the hundreds of Pokémon that were witnessing this "Pokémon" in frozen bewilderment, with a pair of eyes exactly like those of Arceus.

Before Curseax's onlookers, they saw hundreds of black arms spontaneously sprout from Its midsection, waving maliciously around Itself, ready to lash out and seize whatever it can reach, at what it appeared to "see" based on how they appeared to track all life within Curseax's area. And before the surrounding audience could contemplate fleeing, they were already harshly seized, coiled, and pulled directly to Curseax's face, sustaining discombobulating whiplash that some of them blacked out from.

These Pokémon quickly acknowledged their respective predicaments, and attempted to free themselves from a fraction of Curseax's 1,000 black arms as crudely as they physically could. They bit, they slashed, they breathed fire, they released toxic spores. In doing so, they were quick to realize that all this did was waste their energy. And when Curseax continued speaking, they were frozen by the sound of Its own diabolical voice and supreme iniquity.

" _ **…And you**_ **all** _ **will be the first to return to nothingness.**_ "

Expecting the life to be crushed from their bodies, or for Curseax to withdraw Its ethereal arms back into Its body alongside Its captives, they were instead surprised when they saw Curseax open Its _mouth_ , and open it wide. Then their unified shrieks deafened the area as, one by one, they saw Pokémon after Pokémon being voraciously rent asunder and _devoured_ to death. Curseax released more arms from Itself to morbidly tear an individual limb or head from a large and hopeless Pokémon, before tossing their mutilated body parts down Its black throat, disregarding the blood painting it from the inside. And to the Pokémon that were small enough to be swallowed whole, Curseax bit them in half, watching blood forcibly spray out from Its victim's divided body and Its own jaws.

Hundreds of Pokémon soon disappeared into Curseax's maw, without so much as making a dent in Its vile black belly, or in Its insatiable hunger. All they did was give Curseax a taste for Its growing power, alongside their _generously_ sacrificed flesh and blood.

With a dark cackle and a long tongue lapping across its flat lips for any lingering traces of blood, Curseax seeped back into the ground, back into Its own shadow, and left the scene, only to return elsewhere and repeat the carnage ad nauseam.

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

"That's what being alive is, isn't it? The ability to replicate. Even people without children, their bodies are still making new cells all the time." —Orson Scott Card (32) (" _Ender in Exile_ ")


	4. Alpha – Origin Chapter 4

**Alpha – Origin Chapter 4: Antimatter**

The Eighth Day.

From the "Eighth Day" onward, a time of greatness and prosperity flourished over the planet that Arceus and Its children helped shape. All of the proto-life forms that Arceus gave birth to–and decided to _not_ continue giving birth to from here on out–adapted to their assorted global environments and permanently shaped themselves to suit their needs. Those that stayed close to the mountains adapted to the cold climate and the thinner altitude. Those that remained in the skies adapted themselves for flight. Those that dived into the oceans adapted themselves to breathe underwater. Those that scurried in the desert adapted to the harsh heat. Those that clung to the forest trees adapted themselves for climbing and camouflage. And those that ascended into the cosmos adapted to the vacuum of space.

As Arceus and Its Six Children saw and sensed from soaring over and surveying the Earth, there were no more proto-life forms roaming about. The closest echo of their former existence on Earth were the Mew that had stayed close to these seven Pokémon, and since then those Mew have been rather elusive, not to Arceus and Its Children but to the other Earthling Pokémon. And even as they roamed the cosmos for traces of these proto-life forms, they could no longer find any. In their place were startlingly different Pokémon compared to those on Earth.

This was every bit Arceus intention when It decided to spread trillions upon trillions upon trillions of new life forms across the Universe, life forms that can sustain and intermingle with one another in order to continue to exist and maintain or even increase their numbers.

As the Eons passed since the dawn of new life was blanketed over the Earth, Arceus' children were tasked with what Arceus has taught them throughout their everlasting lives. Dialga kept time moving forward to the point where it only needed to interfere in order to alter it in any given way. Palkia kept space expanding to the point where it only needed to create bridges across the universe to connect one corner of the universe to another. Giratina kept reality maintained by holding it all together and occasionally discarding unnecessary debris into the Distortion World, where it swapped properties and took on new life in there by that dimension's own rules. Azelf kept Pokémon determined and reinforced their natural drives and needs. Mesprit kept Pokémon emotionally diverse and vibrant, so that no two Pokémon were ever alike in terms of mentality. And Uxie kept Pokémon intelligent, within their understandable limitations, so that they knew more than mere biological instinct.

And as for Arceus?

Ever since giving birth to so many children, most of which have now spawned as children across countless generations of ancestral Pokémon, Arceus has considered Itself less as a God and more as a Mother or a Father, depending on the widespread Pokémon lore and what gender they decide to mark a genderless Pokémon with. Arceus roamed the world like a God among Pokémon, attracting all kinds of attention, almost entirely positive and appreciative of their known Creator. The Alpha Pokémon traveled across the corners of the Earth millions of times, constantly growing, shedding, and discarding new experiences and traveling companions over the millions of years. Most of these Pokémon had questions for Arceus, while others felt as though they were lacking something. Few felt angered at Arceus. Those Pokémon that were angry at the Alpha Pokémon were either quelled by Its blessings or at a better understanding of the world through Its seemingly infinite wisdoms.

Not just Arceus' wisdoms, but those of its first Six Children as well, as they too took time off of their jobs across the universe to personally roam about those that they dwarf.

For all kinds of Pokémon, there were all kinds of stories, all kinds of memories, and all kinds of challenges that Arceus and Its Children found themselves telling and making and taking part in. And for each and every single one of them, they loved being a part of, despite the brevity of the lives of these Pokémon. Arceus and Its Children knew that these experiences would be inherited to the next generation, and that no two experiences were ever the same. With the way the universe was shaped and the laws of it that Arceus and Its Six Children formed through their actions, that was entirely intentional.

But as time went on, there were noticeable changes to Earth, the kinds of which not even Arceus took into consideration. The one that stood out to Arceus and Its Children the most was the incrementally growing negativity amidst certain Pokémon and in certain locations.

As they soon determined, this sort of negativity was not natural and it was widespread _globally_. But rather than it covering the entire Earth in a cloud of malice, it only covered dots and segments of the planet, the likes of which had no pattern and no traces of origin. The only clues that Arceus and Its Children could discern from this was that, from these emotionally negative blemishes on the planet, they appeared to be spreading. And if it was allowed to continue, then there was a real possibility of the entire Earth being surrounded by negativity.

Peace would shatter. Order would break. Sense would dismiss. Anarchy would reign. There would be chaos of an emotional kind, instead of the turbulent chaos that Arceus was born from.

Knowing that this negative plague must be contained, Arceus and all Six of Its Children split up and covered the Earth as evenly and as efficiently as possible. Where one of them went, the other six would sense. What one of them said, the other six would hear. What one of them does, the other six would know. What one of them thought, the other six would acknowledge.

If there was any evil at work, then these seven Pokémon would prevent it.

…Or so they believe.

* * *

Arceus and Its Six Children skimmed over the earth like the northern, southern, eastern, and western winds. They looked over each and every single point on the planet where the negativity most likely originated from. And in looking at these psychological blemishes on the planet, all they could find in terms of evidence of evil at work was _nothing_.

Whatever was responsible for warping a Pokémon's thought process clearly did so without physical actions. That would mean that they're dealing with a spirit of sorts. A shadow. And to catch a shadow, all they had to do was shine a little light onto it. So to speak.

As each Legendary Pokémon stopped by each of these negative zones they've established just from sensing the dark and unnatural auras of the surrounding Pokémon, and as each of them used their power to dispel whatever evil was at work, one of these seven Pokémon failed to realize that it was being targeted by this same ethereal force.

And that Pokémon…was Giratina.

" ** _You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?_** "

Giratina's actions in psychically resetting this area and everyone in it back to normal were instantaneously terminated as it spontaneously raised its guard and surveyed the land within its field of vision. In searching the somewhat barren land for signs of life, Giratina attempted to pinpoint the source of the calm, collected, deep voice that somehow appeared to exist everywhere.

Or was it speaking to Giratina via telepathy…?

" ** _Wasting your powers for good, when they should be used elsewhere._** "

" _Where are you?_ What _are you? Show yourself!_ " Giratina shouted, its telepathic voice carrying on across the horizon in an attempt to call out this inscrutable force. " _I so much as think it, and my family will be here to stop you!_ "

" ** _Then prove it._** "

Whether or not this voice in Giratina's head had said that or not changed Giratina's choice of actions. It cast a mental beacon over the planet, calling in its Father, its Brothers and Sisters, having located the area where the antagonist presently is but having yet to pinpoint its exact location. Giratina waited for Palkia to appear from a rift in space with everyone else appearing from it.

…But nobody came.

" _What have you–?!_ "

" ** _Shh… We're having a private conversation now._** "

A faint thought of escaping here and physically bringing its family here entered GIratina's mind. But when it did, Giratina was overcome with a painful headache, the likes of which felt akin to having your skull split in two, while you were still conscious long enough to see your perspective cut in half, straight down the middle. Giratina collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed from the mental shackle that this unidentified force had most likely put over it. Giratina felt like passing out, what with its face already pressed into the dirt, but the pain was deliberately weakened to prevent this. Whatever was at work clearly had plans for Giratina.

" _Who…who are you?_ "

" ** _Look up to the sky and see._** "

Giratina did exactly that, slowly at first in order to minimize the splitting migraine it now had rolling within its skull. But upon seeing a quartet of familiar pointed feet on the ground, Giratina set pain aside and sharply looked up, perplexed at what it was seeing staring down at it with red/green eyes.

 _Never Meant to Belong/Bleach Original Soundtrack 1/Shiro Sagisu_

 _(Song Begins)_

" _…Father?_ "

" ** _Hello, My son._** " Arceus responded back, appearing to feel genuine care for Its own "flesh and blood".

At first, seeing such a familiar face made Giratina feel at ease. But in staring at the face of Arceus, as Arceus Itself was returning the gesture, Giratina began to see through this façade.

" _No…_ " Giratina slowly stood up, digging in each of its six feet into the earth to support its body. " _You're not my Father. You're an imposter!_ "

" ** _…_** " Arceus continued to stare at Giratina, even as It was finding Itself craning Its neck up to look at Giratina and its towering height over the default size of its own "Father".

" _You're not Arceus!_ " Giratina knew for certain now. " _What is your name?!_ "

At first, "Arceus" didn't appear to respond to the behavior of Its own "Son". But upon smiling with an unnatural mouth that spontaneously formed on Its face, much to Giratina's horror, "Arceus'" white body began to darken, until Giratina found itself staring a body so black that it almost appeared as though anything touching it would fall into an endless void.

Giratina stepped back in horror of this imposter, this apparition, this monster, this entity that could hardly be labeled a Pokémon at this point.

" ** _I am Curseax._** " Curseax identified Itself before Giratina. " ** _And I have come from your Father's shadow to cleanse the universe of Its sins._** "

From those few words, Giratina had a surplus of questions regarding Curseax and Its connection with Arceus.

" _…You are my Father's shadow?_ "

" ** _I am._** " Curseax denied nothing. " ** _You have two Fathers now. Two choices in life, instead of the one Arceus has forced onto you and your siblings._** "

This abomination wasn't Giratina's Father. It wasn't _anyone's_ Father! It was just a byproduct of Arceus that somehow managed to give Itself life in order to do whatsoever It pleases.

" _How dare you question Arceus?!_ " Giratina was furious now, at everything about Curseax. " _How dare you question our Creator._ "

" **Your** ** _Creator._** " Curseax corrected.

" _What did you just–?!_ "

" ** _Arceus and Curseax are one and the same._** " Curseax continued, referring to Itself in the third-person for the sake of clarification. " ** _We were born from the same place of origin. We shaped the universe together. Or at least, Arceus did. I am the result of your Father's attempts to bring order into chaos._** "

" _What are you talking about?_ " Giratina couldn't yet comprehend what Curseax was implying.

" ** _Before Arceus created the universe, It was born from an egg at the heart of chaos. This chaos existed as a small speck at the heart of a realm of limitless nothingness. Arceus was born within this nothingness after feeding off of the chaos. And after converting it into order, Arceus created the universe under this new power._** "

" _And where do_ You _fall in this tale?_ " Giratina was obviously curious, and continued speaking to the Dark Arceus while It was still in a conversational mood.

" ** _I exist as Arceus polar opposite._** " Curseax admitted, speaking as if It _hated_ being connected to the Alpha Pokémon. " ** _As the lingering chaos that Arceus had all but wiped out collected itself and regroup within a new source, it selected a host._** "

" _And that host…is You?_ " Giratina began to put the pieces together. " _The chaos that Arceus cast aside possessed Its shadow and made you?_ "

" ** _Yes._** "

" _And why tell me all of this when we have every intention of_ stopping _you?!_ " Giratina raised a valid point.

" ** _Because you, your Brothers, your Sisters, and especially your Father, can't stop what has existed for an eternity_** **before** ** _Arceus decided to created this…this…façade!_** " Curseax's anger began to surface. " ** _This…this…web of lies, where the grand illusion that Arceus has cast over every feeble flame It calls '_** **life'** ** _is that everything is right in the world!_** "

Giratina could hear a tremor reverberate across the area, a result directly connected to Curseax's growing spite in regards to an apparently touchy subject. But Curseax was immediate in noticing Giratina's recoil of Its volatile anger and quickly composed Itself before continuing.

" ** _And the reason I'm telling you this is not because I want to or am forced to. Not because I play the villain and wish to share My evil plan with whomsoever I'm confident_** **can't** ** _stop me. I'm telling you this because I've taken pity over you, and the role Arceus has placed over you._** "

" _My role?_ " Giratina sounded less insulted and more concerned.

" ** _Arceus created the universe. Palkia controls space with its every breath. Dialga controls time with its every heartbeat. Azelf influences willpower. Mesprit bestows emotion. Uxie grants knowledge._** " Curseax listed before targeting the only _obvious_ Pokémon for last. " ** _And you, Giratina? What do you do? What has your Father_** **relegated** ** _you to doing?_** "

" _Keeping things together, akin to gravity._ " Giratina uttered frailly, as if doubting its point in life, as if doubting _Arceus_. " _As well as disposing of certain cosmic materials through black holes, vortexes in space that lead to the Distortion World._ "

" ** _And do you understand how gravity works?_** "

" _Yes I do._ " Giratina knew for certain. " _The larger the object, the greater its gravitational pull to smaller objects. It's what keeps this planet from dying and what keeps all life anchored to the surface._ "

" ** _And yet, the smaller the object, the less gravitational pull it possesses._** " Curseax pointed out. " ** _For another life form rivaling your size, gravitational pull is almost nonexistent. They'd have better luck having dust and debris cling onto their hides through static electricity._** "

In Giratina's mind, this conversation has gone on long enough, and it was time for it to put it to an end.

" _…Don't think I don't know what you're doing to me._ " Giratina grumbled.

" ** _Then tell me, so that I can ensure if you've been catching on or not._** " Curseax responded brashly.

" _You want me to join you._ " Giratina strongly believed. " _You want me to betray my family to join you in plunging all of Arceus' hard work back to nothingness!_ "

With a mighty flap of its amorphous, ethereal wings, Giratina backed a few body lengths away from Curseax, while Curseax Itself didn't even blink Its eyes from the sudden gale or feel Itself lose Its balance from the wind pressure.

" _I won't sit idly by and watch you terrorize Arceus' creations and miracles any longer! I will_ defeat _you, even if I'm forced to do it by myself!_ "

Curseax saw Giratina hunch its upper body low and angle its wings in such a way where their red conical claws appeared ready to tear at Its black hide if given the opportunity. To any normal Pokémon, the sight of one of Arceus' Children making itself ready for battle would make them cower and beg for mercy, or make them excited to fight and only end up lasting a few seconds. But to the Dark Arceus, It saw this as a feeble display of resilience, the likes of which proves that Giratina has next to no understanding of the adversary it wishes to challenge.

Because of that, Curseax felt like humoring Giratina.

" ** _Then_** **prove** ** _it._** " Curseax boasted without taking up a stance Itself. " ** _Prove to Me that, as one of Arceus' first Sons, you have the power to kill Me! Show Me that this universe is worth living in, and not doomed to fall into My Void!_** "

Giratina did exactly that. Without a moment's hesitation, it sank into its own shadow via SHADOW FORCE and began to home in towards Curseax. Giratina's speed as a shadow in the earth was certainly a sight to behold and almost impossible to retaliate against for most Pokémon.

But Curseax was not "most Pokémon". In fact, it was hard to say for certain if Curseax could even be labeled as a Pokémon.

Ten black arms emerged from Curseax' midsection and immediately stabbed the earth at the exact moment Giratina's shadow would darken over it. The result was Curseax holding Giratina's shadow in place, a few feet before it could reach Curseax's body. Then, with these same ten ethereal arms, Curseax lifted them out of the ground, alongside Giratina after its SHADOW FORCE attack was stopped dead in its place.

Baffled, Giratina could only watch as Curseax lifted it up, out of its own shadow and high above the ground. Giratina could only struggle in vain to break free from Curseax's grasp, as all six of its legs, both of its wings, its midsection and its neck were restrained by those same ten black arms.

" ** _This universe that your Father created, all of the life It pushed out of Its body, all of Its Sons and Daughters, as well as Itself…_** " Curseax stared Giratina dead in the eye, with Its horrifying mouth opened wide again, as if intending to devour Its victim. " ** _They will_** **all** ** _be swallowed whole by the Void of Curseax!_** "

Curseax retracted Its ten arms with Giratina still bound by them. Giratina watched in growing horror as Curseax's mouth drew closer and closer to its face. Giratina braced for the worst, as Curseax truly appeared to keep Itself true to Its own words, and begin to swallow Giratina whole, or in bloody pieces.

But instead of disappearing down Curseax's gaping maw, It shut its mouth a split-second before Giratina's head could enter it, in order to look at the Renegade Pokémon horrified countenance directly.

" ** _But before that, a point must be made._** "

Curseax summoned an eleventh arm from Its body and hovered its sharpened tip precariously close to Giratina's forehead, waving it back and forth so that Giratina could see its presence, before driving it clean through the Renegade Pokémon's mind like a metaphorical sword. Giratina's eyes widened at first at the black sword arm that cut with no blood or tearing, yet still prodded its mind in ways that it has absolutely no defense for. Then, Giratina's eyes rolled behind its head and closed as the Renegade Pokémon succumbed to unconsciousness.

" ** _The greatest evil that you call Father must know of My power._** "

With the sword arm still in Giratina's forehead and Giratina itself now entirely vulnerable, Curseax relinquished Its hold over the Renegade Pokémon with Its other ten arms. And through Its eleventh, Curseax migrated Its entire body into Giratina, overshadowing a mind made exploitable and feeble by Its power, disappearing from sight and manning a different body like a vehicle without its driver. Once Curseax successfully possessed Giratina, It opened Its eyes, each of them harboring a _secondary_ green pupil and black iris, just beside the red one.

" ** _Arceus and Its Children must experience carnage, fear, and hopelessness firsthand._** " Curseax spoke, Its voice harmonizing parallel with the possessed Giratina's telepathy. " ** _Only then do they have My permission to return to it._** "

Curseax-Giratina flapped its mighty wings to take to the skies. And once high enough, It took advantage of the Griseous Orb that Giratina had embedded into its being. Curseax-Giratina transformed from its Alternate Forme to its Origin Forme, and soared across the skies, straight towards Arceus.

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

"Sometimes you have to feed the tiger so it won't devour you." —Orson Scott Card (368) (" _Shadow of the Hegemon_ ")


	5. Alpha – Origin Chapter 5

**Alpha – Origin Chapter 5: Banishment**

Almost instantaneously, Arceus, Azelf, Dialga, Mesprit, Palkia, and Uxie sense something amiss with Giratina. All six of these Legendary Pokémon stopped dead in their tracks, puzzled by Giratina's sudden shift in overall emanation of aura.

" _Father, did you sense that?_ " Uxie telepathically communicated through their established link, one that a petty distance across the entire diameter of the Earth couldn't weaken.

" _Yes I did, Uxie._ " Arceus responded almost immediately, concern for Giratina notable in Its tone of voice.

" _The negative force that we're hunting for,_ " Dialga continued, listening in on everything as they six also did. " _You don't suppose it seized Giratina, do you?_ "

" _…_ " Arceus prolonged silence reassured Its Children in all of the wrong places.

" _But how is that possible?!_ " Azelf practically shattered the silence with its apprehension on the matter. " _All of us together helped shape this universe and all who inhabit it! How can something like_ that _corrupt one of our own?!_ "

" _We won't know unless we see for ourselves._ " Palkia spoke calmly, but it was clear to everyone that it was seething with rage inside, for whatever it was that attacked Giratina.

" _Giratina! We're coming to rescue you!_ " Mesprit shouted before the long-range telepathic communication went out.

As everyone was now centering in on Giratina's location, Arceus was the only Pokémon to remain immobile. At the moment, Arceus was hovering over a barren wasteland, with the blowing wind as Its conversational voice and Its shadow on the ground as Its only noticeable company.

"(For every light, there is a shadow. For every action, there's a reaction.)" Arceus contemplated deeply, Its head craned low to the ground with the weight of the universe It created. "(…What have I inadvertently unleashed upon My paradise?)"

* * *

Mostly thanks to Palkia's abilities in cutting holes in reality to connect two otherwise distant areas, as well as Dialga's accelerated teletemporation, all five of Arceus' Children regrouped before successfully intercepting Origin Form Giratina over a populated forest. And upon intercepting Giratina here, they began to wish that they hadn't. Because, upon seeing Giratina, they also saw what their own brethren was doing.

And that was laying waste to every single living being within this area.

Through Giratina's body, Curseax was assaulting every single Pokémon by latching onto them with ethereal arms seeping out of the Renegade Pokémon. And as long as these Pokémon were still within the same horizon, then they were within its reach. The arms that Curseax seeped out of Giratina numbered in the dozens, up to the hundreds after enough Pokémon were seized.

And instead of devouring these frightened Pokémon, as Cruseax had already done so before, It triggered Giratina's powers and opened dozens of rifts to the Distortion World, rifts that were deliberately placed in the middle of the forest so that it would unearth and consume as many trees as possible. And through these same vortexes, Curseax tossed these Pokémon inside of them before closing them up, preventing them from escaping a world that exists on the flipside of this one.

A world that Giratina governs over, as Arceus has dictated.

But to the eyes of Giratina's Brothers and Sisters, what Giratina appeared to be doing was entirely against what Arceus would approve of. The Distortion World was meant to recycle the remnants of the universe and give them purpose in a world opposite of this one. Instead, Giratina (under the overshadowing might of Curseax) was simply treating its realm like garbage, and disturbing the balance that it normally maintains.

If this is allowed to continue, then the line separating reality from its polar opposite will blur, blend, and ultimately cancel each other out. The latter of which will prove to be cataclysmic to the universe, and cause it to cease to exist.

" _Giratina! What's gotten into you?!_ " Palkia was the first to speak up to Curseax-Giratina.

" _This isn't like you at all!_ " Mesprit spoke second.

" _This isn't what Arceus would approve of, and you know that!_ " Uxie added third.

" _You can't just rebel against Arceus!_ " Dialga stated forth.

" _There's already a force at work doing just that!_ " Azelf stated fifth and last, considering Arceus wasn't yet here.

Curseax-Giratina's grasp on a few small Pokémon held firm after the remaining Pokémon it seized were cast out into the Distortion World. And as those rifts closed and the few remaining Pokémon about the area were fortunate enough to escape, this just left Giratina to brave the heat of confronting its brothers directly, as Giratina still had its back towards them.

Slowly, and without letting go of the three Pokémon that Curseax's amorphous and black arms were slowly strangling to death, Giratina turned to face its Brothers and Sisters, as Curseax commanded within Giratina's body. All throughout this tense moment, Giratina's eyes were closed the entire time, its mouth covered over by the golden mask it can manipulate to cover and expose its jaws.

And when Giratina's eyes opened, its Brothers and Sisters were quick to note that Giratina's now possessed _two_ red eyes within the same eye sockets.

Entirely uncaring of the new audience, Giratina raised one of the three Pokémon that passed away within its grasp, the smallest of the three, directly towards its mouth. Its golden mask parted to expose its jaws, before one bite and one swallow made the entire Pokémon disappear within the Renegade Pokémon's digestive tract.

The same fate befell the other two Pokémon. However, neither of those two Pokémon were dead yet and therefore could still put up a fight, and neither of them were small enough to be swallowed whole. This didn't bother Curseax-Giratina as it devoured them both, feeling faint resistance as the second Pokémon's tough hide put up some resistance before being bitten in half, and the third Pokémon actually trying to keep the Renegade Pokémon's jaws from crushing its head with its bare hands.

Suffice to say, they were all devoured, and left Curseax-Giratina's mouth dripping red and even _green_ with their blood. And even though all six of these Pokémon were no strangers to devouring other Pokémon for sustenance, the careless nonchalance that Giratina did so _gravely_ disturbed its brethren.

" _ **For the record,**_ " Curseax-Giratina told its disgusted audience, through two voices that harmonized malevolently with one another. " _ **I just devour them for the enjoyment of it. I feed off of negativity, not of flesh and blood.**_ "

" _What…are you?_ " Uxie muttered, seeing Giratina's body, but not its quintessence, which is what mattered more.

" _ **Open your eyes, Uxie.**_ " Curseax-Giratina flatly taunted the Knowledge Pokémon. " _ **I am Giratina. On the outside anyway.**_ "

" _Then what are you…on the_ inside _?_ " Mesprit asked almost hesitantly.

" _ **I Am That I Am.**_ " Curseax-Giratina began to explain itself, as the pair of red pupils within each of its two eyes appeared to swim about within their black sclera. " **I am The Omega, The End, The Void. I am Curseax.** "

" _How dare you refer to yourself as a God?!_ " Azelf shouted out, not feeling as hesitant as its two Sisters. " _There's only One God in this Universe, and Its name is Arceus._ "

" _ **You five can see, yet you are all so blind.**_ " Curseax-Giratina felt like it was conversing with a quintet of idiots. " _ **There is more than one God in this universe. But it's understandable that you can't see the second. Not in this…vessel anyways.**_ "

Curseax-Giratina was speaking the truth regarding the inability of Giratina's friends being able to sense the entity within it. One look at Giratina's being, beyond its body, just made their heads hurt from how devoid Giratina appeared on the inside. For all that they know, that could be Curseax that they're looking at, either as The Void or somewhere lurking deep within it.

" _ **What do you brats see in Arceus anyway, besides It being your Father because It gave birth to you all?**_ " Curseax-Giratina asked them.

" _We see a kind God that brought existence into a world devoid of it._ " Palkia believed with all of its heart.

" _We see a just God that created life to enjoy Its blessings._ " Dialga believed with all of its soul.

" _ **You're all so**_ **sickeningly** _ **naïve.**_ " Curseax-Giratina hissed its words, as if disgusted by the mentality of Arceus' Children. " _ **Bringing life and reality into existence doesn't make Arceus a God. It makes Arceus a sinner, the single most**_ **malicious** _ **force to ever exist.**_ "

" _And on what basis do you vilify Me as a sinner?_ "

All eyes turned towards Arceus as It was hovering just behind Curseax-Giratina. All of Arceus' Children felt relieved to see their Father here, to properly punish this heretic and free Giratina from its control. Curseax-Giratina unsurprisingly didn't feel that. Instead, it felt pleased of Arceus' presence here, for all of the wrong reasons.

" _ **I disparage your 'good name' on the basis that I**_ **am** _ **You.**_ " Curseax-Giratina stated confidently, much to the astonishment of Arceus' Children.

" _…_ " Arceus just stared at Curseax-Giratina, looking beyond its son and at the underlying entity that has defiled Giratina and made the Renegade Pokémon its temporary body.

" _ **You know who I am, yet You're not brave enough to state my identity to Your own Children.**_ " Curseax-Giratina didn't assume. It knew for a fact. " _ **Since you won't tell your kids who I am, then I will.**_ "

Curseax-Giratina turned its back on Arceus and faced Arceus' remaining Children, glaring at them eerily with its unnatural eyes.

" _ **I am your Father's Shadow!**_ " Curseax-Giratina practically shouted this at them, ensuring that they never forget it. " _ **I was born that way, as the lingering chaos Arceus drew in to turn oblivion into consciousness sought a vessel to harbor, in order to return this universe to its natural state of nonexistence.**_ "

With the truth finally revealed about Curseax, all five of Arceus' intact Children readied themselves for battle against Curseax-Giratina, while Arceus still stood idly by, as if deep in thought or inwardly conflicted about Its choice of actions and the reactions that are presently unfolding.

" _I bet you're telling us this because you genuinely believe you'll succeed._ " Uxie assumed, understanding how the conflict between heroes and villains commonly played out.

" _ **If not by my power, then by the natural course of this universe's incremental decay over billions of years.**_ " Curseax-Giratina knew this as fact.

" _And do you think we'll hold anything back on you, because you've taken Giratina as hostage?_ " Azelf gritted its teeth in anger and determination.

" _ **You'll only harm yourselves without leaving a scratch on me.**_ "

" _This universe will hold firm!_ " Mesprit stated with unyielding commitment. "Everyone _will be against you!_ "

" _ **I don't care.**_ "

" _We will stop you!_ " Dialga shouted.

" _ **You will not.**_ "

" _We will tear you apart!_ " Palkia roared.

" _ **Then prepare yourselves to lose a Brother!**_ "

The battle between Arceus and Its five Children versus Curseax-Giratina was as inevitable as the conflict between good and evil. All of Arceus' Children knew hundreds of strategies in combat, and hundreds more that they can implement together. Should Uxie wipe Curseax's mind by opening its eyes, before Azelf robs its willpower and Mesprit removes its emotions? Should Dialga stop time for Curseax and have Palkia tear open a rift in reality to send Curseax to the sun?

The only problem with this is that _none_ of them wanted to harm Giratina. And because Curseax is possessing Giratina, their attacks wouldn't harm Curseax. They would harm Giratina, perhaps even kill it.

Curseax knows that, and didn't hesitate to rush over towards Arceus' Children, with the Renegade Pokémon's body as its shield.

 _ **SHANK!**_

But two white ethereal arms from Arceus, stained a bizarre combination of black and green blood from piercing through Curseax-Giratina's chest stopped the battle altogether.

Curseax-Giratina coughed more unnatural blood and gasped shallowly at seeing both of these arms begin to coil around the length of its body, around the neck and body, multiple times through a pair of arms that have already pierced the Renegade Pokémon's body.

Naturally, the hearts of Arceus' Children skipped a beat–resulting in a brief period of abruptly stopped time through Dialga's power–as they saw Arceus obliterate Curseax-Giratina's heart in two with the same amount of divine arms. Then, they saw Arceus pull Curseax-Giratina towards It, and reorient the entity so that they were both face to face now.

Arceus' face, albeit lacking some of the most basic of features to display emotions with, still had those green/red eyes that appeared to judge those that stared into them. And despite Arceus glaring daggers at Curseax-Giratina, all that Arceus' Shadow could do in this situation was laugh.

" _ **Your Children aren't willing to strike at your own Son, but you wouldn't hesitate to impale it!**_ " Curseax-Giratina said telepathically, while its mouth continued hemorrhaging black and green blood through a haunting gargling laughter, with some of it even spilling over Arceus' white luster. " _ **Giratina hasn't done anything wrong except become my bulwark, and you kill It in cold blood!**_ "

" _…_ " Arceus said nothing about its actions to Curseax-Giratina. All the Alpha Pokémon did was raise Curseax-Giratina over its head, and begin to pull both of its arms apart.

" _ **You can feel it too, can't you?! The coldness of Your Son's blood?!**_ " Curseax-Giratina spoke through its drowning, bleeding laughter. " _ **But while Your Children don't know why You're doing this, You do! And You also know how self-destructive this is if You intend to kill me alongside Your precious Son!**_ "

" _…You're right._ " Arceus finally responded, and it was a response that It said with a heavy heart.

Arceus' Children, still thinking that the Original One would willingly sacrifice Giratina to slay Curseax, still thought that when they saw Arceus tug at Curseax-Giratina's head and tail in opposite directions akin to a torture rack. Only instead of dislocating any bones or ligaments Curseax-Giratina may have within its body, Arceus simply pulled them _both_ apart, resulting in Curseax-Giratina body tearing in two, directly across where Arceus impaled them at.

" _…But you underestimate My power if You truly believe I'm killing one of My own._ "

An explosion of black and green blood seeps out of the Renegade Pokémon, with half of it alongside Curseax-Giratina's bodily contents falling over Arceus' body, before ultimately sliding off like water on a pane of glass. And without wasting a second, Arceus makes a third white arm emerge from Its body, which it hovers over Curseax-Giratina's head until the Griseous Orb begins to protrude from it. One touch of the Griseous Orb in Arceus' part allows It to access the failsafe ability of this majestic item. The Griseous Orb glows a brilliant gold as it draws in Giratina's and _only_ Giratina's body into it, both halves of it.

In the end, all that remains of Giratina is the Griseous Orb, with its broken body mending within it, which Arceus withdrew back into its body for safekeeping, alongside its three arms. And all that remains of Curseax is the black blood it shed throughout this traumatizing experience. Black blood still sliding off of Arceus' white body and collecting itself alongside Giratina's blood as a pond on the ground directly below.

However, what appeared to be black blood wasn't black blood at all. It was Curseax, forced into an amorphous state that began to rise into the air like a balloon, continue to grow as all of the scattered black droplets rejoined, and reshape itself back into Curseax original shape.

And much to the horror of Arceus' Children, Curseax _perfectly_ resembled Arceus in size and appearance, once its body reformed and it levitated beside the Alpha Pokémon. The only differences between the two is their differing dogma, negative color aesthetics–except for their eyes as they were perfectly similar–, and something else.

Something that was a surprise to Arceus' Children, but something that Arceus reluctantly _couldn't_ exploit.

" _ **Do you know why I overshadowed Giratina?**_ " Curseax asked rhetorically, knowing that Arceus already knew the answer and that it was going to state the answer regardless, knowing that there were five Pokémon that "deserved" to know. " _ **Because even though I originate from You, as lingering chaos that has taken the form of Your shadow in order to stay alive and sentient, I**_ **pale** _ **in comparison to You.**_ "

" _But I can't kill you._ " Arceus added, a hint of frustration apparent in Its telepathic voice.

" _ **Because we are linked inseparably.**_ " Curseax clarified, sensing the astonishment of Arceus' Children as soon as it said that. " _ **If one dies, so does the other. Because without darkness, there is no light. And vice versa.**_ "

A prolonged silence filled the area, as these seven entities were the only living beings within miles that could converse with one another.

And then that silence was broken when all five of Arceus' remaining Children fired off a salvo of their strongest attacks directly at Curseax. Azelf's FIRE BLAST, Dialga's ROAR OF TIME, Mesprit's BLIZZARD, Palkia's SPACIAL REND, and Uxie's THUNDER.

All five attacks only met a wall of impenetrable energy that Arceus conjured, to _protect_ Curseax.

" _ **Your Children aren't very well behaved.**_ " Curseax mentioned flatly. " _ **And they don't know how to recognize honesty when they hear it. They believe I'm lying, which is understandable considering my earlier actions.**_ "

Arceus' Children were prepared to launch another round of devastatingly powerful attacks at Curseax, but one look at their Father's eyes, as It scowled at them all evenly and equally, told them that what they were doing was wrong, and that Curseax is indeed telling the truth. It bothered them to commit it to memory as much as it did to Arceus, and they stopped themselves dead in their tracks.

" _ **Perhaps Giratina was the most level-headed of the six of them? I wouldn't know. I only overshadowed it, never reading its mind.**_ "

" _What do you intend to do, now that you're your own being instead of My shadow?_ " Arceus wanted answers, not further denigration of Its beloved offspring.

" _ **I intend to exist.**_ " Curseax stated simply at first, before further explaining itself. " _ **I intend to regain my lost strength from the negativity that exists all around us. And I have the luxury of knowing that You can't kill me without killing Yourself.**_ "

" _And do you believe that I'll allow you to roam free to wreak havoc across My universe?_ " Arceus spoke calmly. But inside, the Alpha Pokémon was seething with rage. " _What's to stop me from banishing you, from_ imprisoning _you within the center of the Earth?_ "

" _ **The understanding that your Children will pay for your mistakes.**_ " Curseax threatened. " _ **Not just your precious six, but every single one of them.**_ "

In theory, everyone is a Child of Arceus, ever since he cast out trillions of proto-life forms, all of which have become other Pokémon, and will continue to bring new Pokémon into the world over the generations. And Curseax is implying that every single one of them will die because Arceus gave them life, something that Curseax views as a detestable sin because everything is meant to be nothing, just as it once was before Arceus was born.

Which is why Arceus didn't hesitate to latch onto Curseax with one arm, then two, then four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, 128, 256, 512, all the way up to 1,000.

Like a spider web, Arceus' Children watched as Curseax disappeared within each individual strand of its ethereal arms. And once Curseax's blasphemous black body couldn't seep through Arceus' 1,000 arms, Arceus focused it holy white power and created a dimension, a prison within its cage of interweaving arms, one that Curseax could not escape from, because it lacked the power to do so.

When everything was said and done, Arceus withdrew all 1,000 arms, making it clear that there were now six entities in attendance instead of seven, or seven out of eight had Curseax never overshadowed Giratina.

" _Curseax has been imprisoned into the center of the Earth._ " Arceus said with no enjoyment on the matter. " _But Curseax still lives. And as long as one of us lives, so will the other._ "

" _What will Curseax do in the center of the Earth?_ " Uxie wondered, looking straight down, seeing through its closed eyes and thousands of miles of rock and molten metal to notice a pocket within the Earth's Core, where a bottomless pit resides.

" _Curseax will feed off of the negativity of all of those who exist._ " Arceus knew for a fact, because on the flipside, _It_ feeds off of the positivity of those who exist.

" _Rage, despair, doubt, and even death…_ " Mesprit listed a few. " _The inevitabilities of life._ "

" _The necessities to keep Curseax alive…_ " Arceus continued reluctantly. " _The supplements to strengthen Curseax, allowing it to regain its lost strength._ "

" _How long will that take?_ " Dialga almost hesitated to ask. " _How long until Curseax rivals you in strength._ "

" _…_ " Arceus had to pause to contemplate an accurate assumption, based on the growing numbers if new lives and new deaths by the second, as well as the conflicts that will inevitably result between them. " _Millions of years, give or take._ "

" _And what will we do about Curseax?_ " Azelf asked with determined curiosity. " _How will we kill it without killing You as a result?_ "

" _…I don't know._ " Arceus admitted to Its Children. " _To find the answer before Curseax discards everything I've created into the Void, I must meditate on it._ "

" _And where will we go?_ " Palkia asked Its Father, sensing that the point of no return had already passed. " _What will we do?_ "

" _Maintain. Preserve. Fortify._ " Arceus listed. " _Both the universe and yourselves._ "

It was clear what Arceus was suggesting at this point. Arceus acknowledges Curseax as a definite threat to creation, one that Arceus Itself actually _fears_ for It to request Its five remaining Children–alongside a recuperating Giratina–to keep themselves on the defensive at all times from here on out. Because, with the understanding that Arceus can't kill Curseax without killing Itself–and vice versa–and therefore allow Curseax the default "privilege" of growing stronger to the point where it feels confident and comfortable in causing irreversible damage to the universe, everyone is a target, and everyone must prepare themselves for the Void of the Dark One, whether they want to or not.

* * *

All five of Arceus remaining Children, with a heavy nod and a temporary farewell to each other, split apart and take to different corners of the Earth and different planes of existence. Arceus remains within the area, only to hold out the Griseous Orb It still had in Its possession.

In looking at the golden polygonal object, Arceus could sense Giratina's body coming back together within it. Giratina was still comatose, and would likely remain that way for a relatively short period of time.

About a few millions years.

With a heavy heart towards the actions Arceus had no choice in acting out towards Giratina, in order to crack Curseax out of the shell it made from the Renegade Pokémon victim, Arceus opened a rift to the Distortion World below Its pointed golden feet. Arceus gave a final look to the Griseous Orb and subsequently the recuperating Giratina within, and dropped the orb.

Despite not utilizing any teletemporation akin to Its Son Dialga, time appeared to move relatively slower than usual through Arceus' eyes, as It saw the Griseous Orb fall further away from It and closer to the Distortion World.

In a way, this was like casting aside Its own Son, banishing Giratina for its violence. When in reality Giratina was innocent, and paid for its innocence by having Curseax exploit it.

In the end, the Griseous Orb fell into the Distortion World and the rift leading to the Distortion World closed, a couple of seconds before a few of Arceus' tears fell onto the floor.

* * *

Dialga and Palkia, despite flying in two entirely different directions, met up in the same place. They ended up on the apex of a mountain, the tallest mountain out of its neighboring mountains, touched only by the most resilient of Pokémon and snow.

Both Pokémon, discreetly thankful that they ended up in the same place, looked at each other before embracing each other in a Brotherly hug.

And from there, they separated, and opened up rifts to their respective dimensions, where time and space reign supreme and in their rawest state. From there they would govern space and time, seldom emerging into the Earth that they all helped create.

* * *

Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie traveled completely different directions, yet ended up at roughly the same area that Dialga and Palkia took shelter in. However, for these three Sisters, they looked away from the mountain range and towards the trio of distinguishable lakes that were close nearby.

Just like Dialga and Palkia, all three Sisters gave each other a farewell hug before flying off towards their own lake. Once there, they each noticed that all three lakes had underground caverns within them. Not one to care of breathing air, water, or just plain not breathe at all, all three of these Pokémon took shelter within these underwater caverns and fell into a deep physical sleep.

With their bodies kept safe, their spirits were free to roam the planet, blessing new and old Pokémon alike with emotions, knowledge, and willpower. The only difference is that they could no longer be seen, not by most.

* * *

The Griseous Orb continued to fall within the Distortion World long after Arceus had cast it out within the adverse realm. The Griseous Orb twisted and turned alongside the warped gravity of islets hanging sideways, trees growing straight down, and waterfalls rising up. It even passed by Pokémon that had passed away here, after Curseax had unceremoniously ended their lives and discarded them within this dimension.

Eventually, the Griseous Orb stopped falling altogether and landed within a shallow crevice on a relatively large islet. The Griseous Orb survived the fall entirely unscathed because the object originated from Arceus and was therefore virtually indestructible. Only when it landed did the relatively harsh impact trigger the Griseous Orb, releasing the Origin Form Renegade Pokémon recuperating within it.

Because Arceus (reluctantly) split Giratina's body in half in order to release Curseax from within, Giratina's body was still mending. The Griseous Orb preserved Giratina's life and kept it alive albeit comatose. At the same time, the Griseous Orb incrementally united both halves of Giratina's body.

One individual cell at a time.

* * *

Limited space was not a punishment in Curseax's eyes. Banishment by Arceus wasn't a consequential judgment in Curseax's mind.

Arceus feared Curseax, like a child feared the dark. Arceus can't kill Curseax without killing itself because they are linked, and has only banished it in order to keep it in an area that will not bring harm to any of Its Children.

However, Curseax can still feed off of all of the negativity emanating from the surface. Distance did not matter to the Shadow of God, to the Dark Arceus that will eventually parallel its Light Arceus counterpart.

Arceus may have converted chaos into order and made a universe within nothingness. But in doing so, Arceus has disturbed the original form of existence–which is absolute nonexistence–and created life only for it to die in Arceus' flawed image.

Curseax will return to the surface. And when it does, the Void of the Dark One will begin.

* * *

On the surface of planet Earth, life continued as it has since Pokémon first roamed the world. Plants still grew, Pokémon still lived. Waters still stirred and skies still rolled by. None of them were aware that Curseax fed off of their negativity. To them, it was as inconspicuous as breathing.

The only noticeable difference in their lives is the fact that Arceus and Its First Six Children slowly devolved from reality into lore. What was once a septet of Pokémon Gods that walked and flew across the Earth like ordinary Pokémon had now disappeared without leaving behind a trace of their present whereabouts.

From lore evolved legends that were passed down over the generations, telling the tales of how Arceus created the universe, gave birth to all forms of life, and how Its first Six Children shaped reality and psychology.

Those that knew the lore best were the smallest of Legendary Pokémon, the Mew that clung onto Arceus above all other Pokémon. But even they appeared to disappear over time. It is unsure if their numbers have physically decreased or if they simply decided to live secluded, nomadic lives. If anything, they too devolved into legend.

The only difference is that the Mew still roamed the Earth, listening in every once in a while to other Pokémon that talked about them, even appearing before the purest hearted of Pokémon from time to time.

* * *

The greatest irony that Arceus saw out of what happened as of late is that the dimension that Arceus created for Its personal seclusion vaguely resembled the nothingness that It was born from.

Then again, this wasn't irony as much as it was unintentional.

Arceus deliberately shaped Its dimension to emulate the nothingness that It was born in. And as the eons rolled by, with the world going on without it, Arceus contemplated that this was a banishment of Its own.

As a God, Arceus failed in preventing Curseax from existing, allowing the Dark Arceus to eventually match its strength. But that didn't mean that Arceus was going to give up and allow the Void of the Dark One to reset everything It had worked hard in creating.

Within here, Arceus would seldom watch over the Earth and over the cosmos. Within here, Arceus would only watch its own thoughts, formulating and meditating on how to defeat Curseax without defeating Itself.

And this prolonged meditation began when Arceus closed Its eyes.

* * *

 _Star Sky/Battlecry (Disc 2)/Two Steps From Hell_

 _(Song Begins)_

 _[Opening Instrumental]_

 _Here we are._

 _Riding the sky._

 _Painting the night with sun._

 _You and I, mirrors of light._

 _Twins flames of fire._

 _Lit in another time and place._

 _I knew your name._

 _I knew your face._

 _Your love and grace._

 _Past and present now embrace._

 _Worlds collide in inner space._

 _Unstoppable, the song we play._

 _[Chorus]_

 _(Burn the page for me.)_

 _(I cannot erase the time of sleep.)_

 _(I cannot be loved so set me free.)_

 _(I cannot deliver your love or caress your soul.)_

 _(So turn that page for me.)_

 _(I cannot embrace the touch that you give.)_

 _(I cannot find solace in your words.)_

 _(I cannot deliver you your love.)_

 _(Or caress your soul.)_

 _Age to age._

 _I feel the call._

 _Memory of future dreams._

 _You and I, riding the sky._

 _Keeping the fire bright._

 _From another time and place._

 _I know your name._

 _I know your face._

 _Your touch and grace._

 _All of time can not erase._

 _What our hearts remember stays._

 _Forever on a song we play._

 _[Chorus]_

 _(Burn the page for me.)_

 _(I cannot erase the time of sleep.)_

 _(I cannot be loved so set me free.)_

 _(I cannot deliver your love or caress your soul.)_

 _(So turn that page for me.)_

 _(I cannot embrace the touch that you give.)_

 _(I cannot find solace in your words.)_

 _(I cannot deliver you your love.)_

 _(Or caress your soul.)_

 _[Instrumental]_

 _(Song Ends)_

* * *

"What is to be gained from humiliating those who believe they stand outside the power of God? (…). God will show them his power in his own good time, and until then we are wise to be kind." —Orson Scott Card (31) (" _Shadow of the Giant_ ")

* * *

I bet you're mildly confused by this story being marked as "Complete". Well, here's my reason for that.

The initial plan was to put in all of these "Origin" stories as one story, as a collection of short stories in one place. But as time goes on and the Pokemon series continues to lovingly cook quality games, the lore and Pokemon behind them will grow.

And as main Pokemon game _remakes_ continue to happen (because there's no question that a Diamond and Pearl remake is next on the list), the lore will continue to evolve for them.

Before 4th gen, and before Arceus, Mew was considered as a "God" of Pokemon because it was the "Ancestor of Pokemon". But that's no longer true of the lore. And whether or not Arceus is permanently going to stay as a Pokemon God/Creator, I can't exactly feel comfortable in putting all of these short story compilations under one title. It wouldn't make much sense when new stories will be wedged in between, existing stories about certain Pokemon are tweaked, and the chronological order of them gets fucked up.

It would be a hindrance.

So, what's my plan for these "Origin" stories?

For each new one, I'll make it its own new fanfic. This one is finished, and it even connects to _The Path of the Aura_ , which is what I intended to do for many of them. As a piece of lore juggles around in my head, collecting ideas that I can make a story out of, I'll brainstorm it and write it down. I'll make it as ongoing as my main fanfic series, to the best of my ability. Doesn't have to follow a chronological order as long as it's there.

So, what's next from here? The "Origin" stories of the Weather Trio: Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. What's it going to be titled? You'll know in due time.

Not until _Diverging from The Path of the Aura_ has reached 14 chapters in length.


End file.
